Hazare apologises to Bharti

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New Delhi, Apr 7 : Regretting the action of some of his supporters, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare today apologised to Hindutva leader Uma Bharti who was heckled by his followers at the dharna site here and described her as his "sister".
"I apologise to her. Some people shooed her away. I am sad at this. Some people have done some wrong things," Hazare said addressing a huge gathering of his followers and students at Jantar Mantar.
The veteran Gandhian said everybody has the right to come and sit at the dharna site where the public is sitting.
"We have adopted democracy. We cannot deny any body''s right to sit here. But we are not allowing anybody to sit on the dais as some people may try to take advantage of it. Some people may use it to take mileage out of it," he said.
Hazare, whose indefinite hunger strike entered the third day today, said politicians could come and sit among the crowd but not on the stage.
"This is a people''s movement and giving it a political shade would be wrong," he said.
Bharti, who was heckled by a group of people when she went to meet Hazare yesterday, had shot off a letter to the fasting social activist questioning the "communal" behaviour of his supporters.
"I have never been accused of corruption. But I am a firm believer in Hindutva and also a nationalist. You also paid obeisance at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi where the name of (Lord) Ram is inscribed. Does this mean that your supporters can put on a display of communalism and insult 80 crore Hindus of the nation," she had said.
Bharti, a former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, said when she had visited Jantar Mantar she was surrounded by about 50 persons who shouted slogans "extremists go back".
She had asked Hazare how would he get the Parliament agree to the Jan Lokpal Bill when his views were not acceptable to those around him.
Bharti said she expected Hazare to publicly condemn the act of the actions of the people who has insulted the great task undertaken by the social activist who has become a symbol of hope for millions of countrymen who were fed up with corrupt practices.