Anna to Mallika: I'm opposed to communal disharmony

AHMEDABAD: Anna Hazare has written to dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai saying that his praise of rural development by chief ministers Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar in Gujarat and Bihar, was in response to a question asked in a press conference.
He clarified that he was opposed to communal disharmony and discrimination on religious or caste lines. He also added that he believed in Gandhian values and his movement had supporters like archbishop of Delhi and Mufti Shamoon Qasmi.
Sarabhai had written on behalf of many activists from Gujarat who had joined the Lokpal movement here, saying that they were appalled by his endorsement of the Modi government and that they would be forced to distance themselves from the movement if Hazare did not retract irrevocably.
Sarabhai had told Hazare that there was little or no rural development in Gujarat. Besides there was no lokayukta since 7 years in the state and corruption complaints went unheard, she had said.
Vadodara-based environment and human rights activists Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah also wrote another letter to Hazare saying, "Your vague clarification is only related to communal harmony and politics - which is not what we in Gujarat raised to you in our letter on Monday, while pointing out your praise of Modi's development model is misplaced."
They said that Hazare's endorsement of Modi's development prompted the chief minister to write an open letter to him minding him of a "vilification campaign". "We hope you realize the implications of endorsement now," they wrote in their letter of Tuesday.