Rahul welcome to join protest, but cannot share stage: Anna Hazare

A day before launching a protest against what he termed the "anti-farmer" land ordinance, social activist Anna Hazare said that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi can join the movement but would have to sit with the common man.

Press Trust Of India

Updated:February 22, 2015, 9:23 PM IST

Rahul welcome to join protest, but cannot share stage: Anna Hazare

A day before launching a protest against what he termed the "anti-farmer" land ordinance, social activist Anna Hazare said that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi can join the movement but would have to sit with the common man.

New Delhi: A day before launching a protest in Delhi against what he termed the "anti-farmer" land ordinance, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi can join the movement but would have to sit with the common man.

The 77-year-old Gandhian also said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, too, may join the protest but whether his constitutional post would be respected for him to be given space on the stage would be decided at a meeting he is holding on Monday.

"The land ordinance is against the farmers. In an agriculturally dominated nation, when there is torture on farmers, then all the people should stand united. "So we want that any opposition party, or be it Kejriwal, all the workers should work together to take this agitation forward," said Hazare, adding that the Delhi Chief Minister had expressed a desire to join the agitation.

"I told him (Kejriwal) that workers should not come on to the stage, they can join the agitation. We will talk on this in detail as I am meeting him tomorrow. We will talk and figure out the next plan of action," he told.

"Arvind is now the CM. Not Arvind as a person but being a chief minister, whether we have to respect his post or not that we will decide tomorrow. If everybody decides that Arvind should sit on the stage, then I don't have any problem..." Hazare said.

Asked about Congress wanting to support his agitation, the anti-corruption activist said that political parties manipulate such situations but at the same time maintained that the Congress Vice President "can come and sit among the public" if he wants to join the agitation.

Hazare, along with farmers' bodies, will be holding a two- day protest starting on Monday -- when the Budget Session of the Parliament too gets underway -- against the ordinance at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

"This (land) ordinance is against the farmers and in favour of the corporates. It seems to be 'Achhe Din' only for the corporates," he said.