Hazare praises India's youth, tells govt to decentralise power

Mumbai: Making his first public appearance after his 12-day fast, social activist Anna Hazare renewed his call to the nation’s youth to fight against corruption. He also spelt out his demands to the central government.

Addressing a crowd of over 5,000 people at his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra, Hazare said: “Whatever is achieved from my 12-day fast is a victory of the people.” Terming his fight against graft as the second freedom struggle, he said, “Even though the English left 64 years ago, corruption, hooliganism and loot of the country continue.”

“Corruption has made life of the common man difficult,” the septuagenarian Hazare said amid vociferous cries of support. In his speech of over 15 minutes in chaste Marathi, he called upon the country’s youth to raise their voice against all kinds of injustice.

“Youth power has to come up. Youth power is the strength of the nation. My faith is with the youth. If the youth unites in this fight, the day is not far away when India would rise as a great nation,” the Gandhian said.

Repeating what he said at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan a few days ago, Hazare said, “By wearing a mere ‘I am Anna’ cap, you won’t become an Anna. You need to have a clean life, learn to sacrifice, start thinking about your country and make humanitarian ideologies part of your character.”

He urged the youth to raise their voice whenever they see injustice being done.

Hazare lamented the fact that India had failed to fulfill the dreams of the Father of the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Making sure that he touches all sections of society in his speech, the social activist said, “Dalits and the poor are still looked down upon in our society. Ambedkar dreamt of an India where there would be no social and economic inequalities. We are yet to achieve that goal.”

Hazare said there is no caste, creed and religious division in this fight against corruption.

“The government is trying to adopt a divide and rule policy,” the Gandhian said. Through his speech, Hazare reiterated that there should be decentralisation of power.

“Decentralisation of power should be till the gram sabhas and panchayats,” he said, hinting of tough days for the government again.

The septuagenarian was particularly against the role of middlemen in the farming sector where unscrupulous agents rob the farmers of their profits and themselves reap the benefits. Even though at one point Hazare said he believed in Parliament, he also issued a veiled threat to those in power saying, “People’s parliament is bigger then the Parliament in Delhi.”

The Gandhian activist also wanted the government to prevent exploitation of labourers and control the price rise of essential commodities. It is time, he said, the great divide between the haves and the have-nots was bridged.

Switching over to Hindi in the later part of his address, Hazare said he was worried to see that over half of the people in power are frauds but he had reposed his faith in the country’s youth to bring honour to the tri-colour.

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