‘Tainted leaders will harm you,’ Anna Hazare slams BJP for random recruitment

New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare has warned the Bharatiya Janata Party that recruiting ‘tainted’ leaders would hamper the party’s reputation.

Hazare told Loksatta: “BJP should not recruit such people. If BJP continues recruiting tainted people, then it will not be long before the party is defamed.”

Hazare also held voters responsible for such leaders in politics as they bring them to power. Hazare said that people, especially the youth, should teach a lesson to parties which rope in tainted leaders. “They should ensure that only honest candidates who will work in the interest of the general public are elected,” he said.

He further said there were too many tainted and corrupt leaders in politics.
“These leaders, in a bid to hide their wrongdoings, always seek shelter with 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 said.

Recently, many leaders from the Congress and NCP have joined the BJP in Maharashtra ahead of the Assembly polls.

On Monday, Nawab Malik, national spokesperson and senior NCP leader, had said those leaving the party were “entangled in some legal issues” and were, therefore, “desperately looking for the protective blanket” of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena. “They are in a problem and are hoping the BJP and Shiv Sena, who are ruling the state, will help them sort their issues,” he said.