Sunday, May 19th 11:36 AM IST
 

Anna should throw his weight behind Kejriwal

Arun George

In widening the gap between the two groups, Hazare only risks destroying the momentum the group had built up from 2011. Hazare’s campaign, as it stands, has little to look forward to apart from being one that may have its roots in rural areas, but has relatively undefined, idealistic objectives. Hoping for something like the JP movement that had support from across the country, Hazare risks losing relevance and could easily be brushed aside by the next national elections unless he defines his objectives very quickly. Perhaps instead of sitting on the sidelines and giving Kejriwal advice, it’s time for Anna to also throw his weight behind his former lieutenant and ensure that Kejriwal can sustain his campaign till the next polls.read less read more

Akshaya Mishra

Arvind Kejriwal must walk it alone. His decision to be an insider in the political system and change it from within was his own. It’s not a bad decision but is fraught with grave risks. If it fails to take off, there’s a possibility that the entire civil society movement built around corruption will collapse. While Kejriwal is busy with his political party, Anna Hazare can build pressure on the corrupt through his own course of action, which has proved effective earlier. The bottom line is there should be a multi-pronged attack on corruption.read less read more