May field young, clean candidates for polls: Hazare

Activist Anna Hazare, during a recent interview to a TV channel, stated that he could field "young and dedicated candidates" for elections across India in the future.

This statement is in sharp contrast to his earlier assertion that he was not interested in political power or Constitutional posts.

In an interview to STAR News, Hazare said, "I appeal to the youth that you keep yourself focused, keep yourself clean and keep out of controversies. And in the next 2-3 years when I see a lot of such young men doing a great job, that's when I will ask them to run for the elections".

He added that these "clean, young people" would not join any political party but contest as Independent candidates. As so many of our legislators were facing criminal cases, said Hazare, these candidates should reach state assemblies and Parliament.

"This will strengthen our democracy; we will build a strong and effective democracy. We will have a bright future and the key to this are such youth," he said.

Hazare added that he will soon write a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to appoint a Lokayukta in all the Congress-rules states. Otherwise he would have to embark on another fast, said the Gandhian.