Congress leader and Anna Hazare’s nephew Vinayakrao Deshmukh blamed it on the anti-corruption movement launched by his uncle.
Even as the Congress is smarting from its poor performance in the recent assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and the municipal polls in Maharashtra, Congress leader and Anna Hazare’s nephew Vinayakrao Deshmukh blamed it on the anti-corruption movement launched by his uncle.
“There was an undercurrent (created by the agitation) in the minds of the people. A subterranean sentiment created by the agitation launched by Anna has hurt the Congress,” said Deshmukh, who chairs the panel appointed by the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) to monitor the progress of the flagship programmes launched by the Congress-led UPA government.
He added that the Congress needed to take cognisance of the peoples’ sentiments and ensure that the Lokpal bill was passed.
“The (agitation) did impact this in some measure,” said Deshmukh. He added that in the previous year, the protest had been among the “most significant events of the year and had repercussions even in the rural areas”. He said the anti-corruption movement was seen as anti-government.
Deshmukh, an engineer, was the Ahmednagar district Congress chief but quit the party to join the NCP with senior leader and incumbent Rajya Sabha MP Govindrao Adik and later returned to the Congress. Last year, he had also taken MPCC president Manikrao Thakre to meet his uncle in his village of Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar.
“The people’s sentiments are not always expressed in public…Anna’s agitation influenced people’s psyche. Issues like the 2G (spectrum) scam happened at the same time, and hence it had an impact (on the polls),” said Deshmukh.
He added that Hazare was not for or against any political party.
“Anna’s motive is not to work against the Congress. If that was the case, he would have himself campaigned against the Congress,” said Deshmukh. The Congress should take steps to pass the Lokpal Bill, he added.
While referring to the defeat of the Congress-NCP alliance in the BMC polls, Deshmukh said this was because the voters did not want to “centralise” power in the hands of a few.
“We expected a lot from Uttar Pradesh. Actually, the party was not very strong in UP and it was a challenge to create the organisation there like Rahul Gandhi tried,” said Deshmukh, adding that the Congress needed to take remedial measures to shore up its fortunes in state.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}