Reacting sharply to being referred as a mukhauta (mask) of the BJP and RSS by Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, Anna Hazare on Sunday wrote to Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, daring the party to "make public" any evidence it has to prove his links with the two.
A deeply "hurt" Hazare, in his three-page letter, said Congress leaders and ministers were "telling lies" to defame him. It did not augur well for the country if responsible leaders start "telling lies only to clinch to power" by misleading people, he said.
His letter came in the backdrop of Dwivedi dubbing him a "mask" of the BJP recently, even as other leaders took a strong position against the civil society on the proposed Lokpal Bill. In his letter, Hazare said such remarks were part of a "conspiracy" to ensure that those people who supported him during the April protest did not do so in future.