RSS raps Anna Hazare for his stoic silence

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The RSS on Sunday rapped Gandhian leader Anna Hazare for his stoic silence in acknowledging the fact that the Sangh workers had actively taken part in the latter's nationwide crusade against corruption last year.

"It is a fact that the Sangh workers in individual capacity did play an active role in the anti-corruption crusade by the civil society headed by Hazare...it baffles me as to whay the former did not acknowledge the fact," RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told reporters.

Though the RSS had not directed its workers to join the civil society's crusade on corruption, a large number of them did take an active part in the agitation throughout the country on their own volition, he said.

However, it baffled him when the Gandhian leader did not acknowledge the role of the Sangh workers in his anti-corruption movement when the Congress attacked Hazare for soliciting RSS support on corruption issue, Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat, however, clarified that the RSS was not part of the civil society agitation on the corruption issue even as it shared similar views and had adopted a resolution on the issue in March last year.

The RSS leader said that corruption in the political system could not be addressed merely by taking stringent action against corrupt public service.

Other remedies like electoral reforms and making the system a transparent and accountable should also be considered to usher in good governance in the country.

Bhagwat clarified that it was not the RSS' decision to make Nitin Gadkari the BJP national president but it had merely played the role of a felicitator when senior BJP leaders had met him to find a replacement for Rajnath Singh in the post-parliamentary poll debacle of 2009.

"Some senior BJP leaders had called me to discuss the future of the party leadership following debacle in 2009 parliamentary polls....the name of a number of leaders were discussed for the BJP president's post with Gadkari being among the names," the RSS chief told reporters.

"It was the BJP leaders' call to select Gadkari as the BJP president," he said adding the Sangh had merely played the role of a facilitator.