‘I didn’t want to fast in Mumbai, but was forced to do so. My health deteriorated’

Anna, you are re-starting your movement, but this time you are without the main players, the pillars that stood by your side earlier. There is no Arvind (Kejriwal), there is no Prashant (Bhushan). Are you feeling their absence?

No. Never in my life have I worried about yash or apyash (fame or infamy), toh kyon main fikr karoon (so why should I worry)? If there is criticism, so be it, I don't care. My kartavya (duty) is to keep working and I will keep working irrespective of whether I get praise or criticism.

But the team has left.

It will make no difference. And you will see that with my new team, much more work will now get done. I have full confidence. I received a hundred applications from retired Army generals, Brigadiers, Colonels, IAS, IPS officers (to join the team).

Among the people who worked with you in the first team, Arvind was the most prominent. Arvind says Anna is in his heart and it would have been good if Anna had lent his support and been with him in his party. Do you feel that it would have been good if he had been in your andolan?

There is no harm in thinking that it would have been good had he been there. But I believe that even if he is not there, whatever way he has chosen is good for the nation. Our andolan is also for the good of the nation. We will get whatever success we are destined to get.

So you will build a new team?

Yes, we will form a new team around Diwali. On November 10, we will announce the new team.

Who all have joined your team?

There is this IAS officer from Pune, (Avinash) Dharmadhikari, who has resigned to join us. Then there is Vishwambhar Choudhary, General V K Singh and many others. We will first set up a team of 20 people. After that, we will go through all the applications that we have received. We will check their backgrounds, whether they have the temperament to serve, saamaajik drishtikon (social perspective) hai ya nahin hai. We are thinking of having two people in each state who would be members of the core committee. Below that will be our volunteers. Each state will have several hundred volunteers. We will build up the organisation from state to district, block, and right down to the village.

... contd.

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