Mumbai

Social activist Anna Hazare today expressed his disappointment on the warm embrace his former protege Arvind Kejriwal and Lalu Prasad shared on stage on the sidelines of the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s oath ceremony in Patna on Friday.

“It’s good that I left Arvind’s company, or else I would also be facing a similar predicament,” Hazare said.

“Shaking hands with Lalu and hugging him is not okay,” Hazare told reporters at his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district.

Hazare’s comments came even as Kejriwal sought to clear the air on the Lalu hug that has become a much discussed topic in the country.

Yadav, Kejriwal claimed yesterday, was the sole author of the warm embrace the two leaders shared.

“He shook my hand and pulled me into a hug and then he held my hand and raised it,” said the Delhi chief minister, adding, “It was projected and questions were asked.”

However video of the event failed to support Kejriwal’s version.

Moreover, Kejriwal – who made his political career on anti-corruption plank and criticized Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convicted corrupt – just didn’t hug Lalu but had also supported the alliance of Lalu- Nitish- Congress in Bihar elections.

Photographs of the two leaders went viral on social media and a Kejriwal tweet from two years ago was dug up to remind the former anti-corruption activist of his stand on Lalu Yadav when the latter was convicted in a corruption case.

The hug earned Kejriwal criticism not only on social media but also from political rivals, including former AAP colleague Yogendra Yadav who said, “Political capital of the movement sold to symbols of political corruption. Ashamed!”

PTI