Anna and team want to stub out slapgate row before it rages

New Delhi, Nov 25: With activist Anna Hazare in the receiving end for his comments made in the aftermath of the assault on Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday, attempts are being made to nip the controversy in the bud. Anna is drawing flak from various quarters after he said, "

?" when asked for his comments on the assault.

Anna was quick to admit his faux pas and clarified, "I was addressing a daily gathering of people when someone sent me a note informing about the attack. I wanted to know whether it was just a slap or there was some other kind of violence."

Key Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan clarified Anna's statements and stated that the Gandhian was misinterpreted. Both Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal were in damage control mode to avoid the issue gaining unwanted prominence. Political parties across the spectrum have condemned the attack.

Arvind Kejriwal commented on the slapgate saga, "No kind of violence can be tolerated in any civil society. So, we strongly condemn this violence, and such a kind of violence was never a part of our movement. We never advocated any such thing."

Prashant Bhushan also expressed his condemnation and said, "It's a fact that there is a lot of anger among the people and legitimate anger among the people regarding enormous, rampant corruption and price rise which is making life very difficult for the common man in the country. Now it is also a reality, that sometimes this anger spills out into violence. However, that should not happen, that needs to stop, that needs to be condemned."

Anna added that he was ready to apologize if he has caused hurt and reiterated that he was misinterpreted.

OneIndia News