Anna Hazare said on Friday that he was ”deeply pained” by the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, “who is now paying for his deeds”.

The social activist, who once spearheaded a campaign against corruption along with Kejriwal, nevertheless added that he was pained by the development.

Advertisement

Interacting with the media at his native village Ralegan-Siddhi in Maharashtra this morning, the one-time mentor of Kejriwal said, “I remember he was working with me and we both had raised our voices against liquor… But now, he’s trying to accord legal sanction to liquor.”

The 86-year-old self-avowed Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader, who has been a mentor of the accused, expressed his deep anguish saying nothing can be done (at this juncture) as his one-time protege has been arrested for his dark deeds. “If he had not done such things (adoption of the new liquor policy in Delhi), this (arrest) would not have happened. Now, the law will take its course,” he said, adding that the government would see and decide what has to be done.

On several occasions in the past, Hazare, whose anti-corruption movement saw the emergence of Kejriwal as a politician, hit out at him saying he was “very saddened to see” some of Delhi chief minister’s colleagues going to jail and that he was disappointed by Kejriwal and the AAP for “betraying the expectations of people”.