Activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an honest man, but one who was unable to freely take decisions as he was being "remote controlled".
Interacting with media personnel in Ralegan Siddhi village, Hazare said good political leaders were scarce, and those that were good are prevented from working honestly and for the welfare of the people.
"No ruling or opposition party is working for the development of the country. All the politicians are running after money and power. There are some politicians with clean image in the ruling as well as the opposition parties and we accept this fact. But they are not allowed to do anything. Majority of people prevent them from doing good work," he said.
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'Manmohan Singh is an honest man'
"Our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an honest man; I have never heard that he is involved in cases of corruption. But in spite of being honest, he is being run by a remote control, and is forced to remain quiet. Then what will the prime minister do? There are many politicians whose condition is similar," said Hazare.
The world's largest democracy has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of legislators with criminal records and some state governments are brazenly admitting notorious individuals into the party-fold for electoral considerations, he pointed out.
Hazare began his five-week long state-wide tour on Tuesday from Shirdi for public awareness and stressed on the need to have an anti-graft bill to combat rampant corruption.
Exuding confidence, Hazare said that within these 35 days, he will visit 35 districts and would motivate people to continue their fight against corruption.
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'Is he aware of the process of making water available?'
"I am confident that in these 35 days, I will go to 35 districts. I have faith in myself and that is the reason why I am moving out. If I was scared, I would have stayed in the hospital. I will tour the whole country and will continue to fight for an effective Jan Lokpal and Lokayukta. Till the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed and a Lokayukta is not formed in every state, I will continue to fight and I am ready to fight," said Hazare.
Criticising Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi for his recent visit to the drought-affected parts of Maharashtra, Hazare described the tour as a gimmick and added that visiting the area for a few hours would not solve the problem.
"Rahul Gandhi visited the drought-hit Sarata region. His photographs were published in the newspapers and it was highlighted in the media. It has been 65 years since independence and we are still wondering as to when we will get water. Now we have to see what steps he takes to provide water. Is he aware of the process of making water available? If he wants to know, he should stay in Ralegan Siddhi for few days and talk to the locals here and learn how to make water available," said Hazare.
Gandhi had recently visited drought-hit Satara district and assured the locals that their woes would be addressed soon.
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