Sonia Gandhi sends terse reply to Hazare

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) In a terse reply to social
activist Anna Hazare who had accused her party of running a
smear campaign, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday
indicated her unhappiness with him for making his
communication public and said she has already made her views
'clear'.
"I received your letter dated June 9, 2011. Since I was
not in Delhi I could not reply to your letter. In the
meantime, you have also made it public. I will get information
in this regard. As far as the questions about the issues
raised in the letter are concerned, I have already made my
views clear in my letter dated April 19, 2011," Gandhi said.
Hazare had written the letter to Gandhi complaining
against Congress media department head Janaradhan Dwivedi
calling him an RSS-BJP "mask". The social activist had refuted
these allegations and challenged the Congress, through this
letter, to prove their charge.
He had termed this a "conspiracy" of the Congress and
the UPA ministers to defame him, so that he loses his support.
He had informed Gandhi that he was hurt by these comments.
In her reply to Hazare today, Gandhi has mentioned the
April 19, 2011 letter to him in which she had said made clear
that she does not support smear campaigns against anybody.
"As for statements appearing in the media, let me assure
you that I do not support nor encourage the politics of smear
campaigns," Gandhi had said in her earlier letter.
She had also said that the Lokpal Bill is very much a
part of the agenda of National Advisory Council, headed by
her.
"I believe there is an urgent necessity to combat graft
and corruption. You should have no doubt of my commitment in
the fight for probity in public life. I strongly support the
institution of a Lokpal that is consistent with the practices
and conventions of our parliamentary democracy," Gandhi had
said.