Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has criticized veteran social activist Anna Hazare for failing to speak out against "irregularities" under the BJP-led governments since 2014. Raut's remarks on Tuesday followed Hazare’s recent statement, where he claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost the recent Delhi assembly elections due to Arvind Kejriwal's focus on money. In response, Hazare rejected the criticism, stating that some people perceive matters according to their own mindset.
"Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia made Anna (Hazare) a mahatma. Without them, Anna couldn't have seen Delhi or visit Ram Leela and Jantar Mantar (to protest against corruption)," Raut claimed while talking to reporters in Mumbai. "After 2014, there was an explosion of irregularities under the BJP-ruled Centre and Maharashtra, but Anna didn't utter a single word," the Rajya Sabha member said.
In response to the criticism, Anna Hazare remarked, "A person wearing a particular colour of spectacles sees the world accordingly." Following the AAP's poor performance in the recent Delhi assembly elections, Hazare stated that Arvind Kejriwal "only focused on liquor" and neglected to serve the people.