Hazare said people should teach a lesson to parties that field candidates with tainted backgrounds. (File)Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has criticised the BJP for roping in leaders with “tainted” backgrounds.
“BJP should not recruit such people. If BJP continues recruiting tainted people, then it will not be long before the party is defamed,” he said.
Hazare said there was no dearth of corrupt leaders in politics. “These leaders, in a bid to hide their wrongdoings, always seek shelter with the ruling parties. Suresh Jain (Shiv Sena leader recently convicted in the Gharkul housing scam) is a prime example of such practices. To hide his multi-crore scandals, he changed parties thrice and therefore there was a delay in action against him,” Hazare told Loksatta.
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Hazare said people should teach a lesson to parties that field candidates with tainted backgrounds, and young voters, whose numbers are rising, should take the initiative in this. “They should ensure that only honest candidaes who will work in the interest of the general public are elected,” he said.
Recently, several leaders from Congress and NCP have joined the BJP in Maharashtra, where Assembly polls are due in a few months. On Monday, Nawab Malik, national spokesperson and senior NCP leader, had said those leaving the party were “entangled in some legal issues” and therefore, “desperately looking for the protective blanket” of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena. “They are in a problem and are hoping that the BJP and Shiv Sena, who are ruling the state, will help them sort out their issues,” he said.
