India has only one Mahatma

Slamming Anna Hazare, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday said India has one Mahatma — Mahatma Gandhi — and it is wrong to say there is only one single crusader against corruption in the country.“I appeal to the Congress party and to the government that under no circumstances the sovereignty of parliament should be surrendered. It should not do anything under duress,” CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said after the government introduced the Lokpal bill in the Lok Sabha.Referring to the impending phase of Hazare agitation, Dasgupta asked: “Is it that we are not fighting corruption on our own and we are doing it because somebody else is threatening?”“There is only one father of the nation — Mahatma Gandhi. Let no one pretend or let us not allow anybody pretend to be a single crusader against corruption.”“Therefore, there is not a single crusader against corruption. Please don’t be afraid of an individual, please don’t be afraid of another phase of hunger strike. Don’t surrender the sovereignty of parliament,” he added. Dasgupta added that Hazare was not the only one who fought against corruption, a number of parliamentarians have raised questions on corruption.