Pune: Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said the court’s decision to acquit former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case related to excise policy must be accepted by all, stressing that the judiciary was the highest institution in the country and its verdicts deserved respect. He told reporters at his hometown Ralegansiddhi in Ahilyanagar, “Whatever I said about him in the past was before the judiciary delivered its verdict. Those remarks were made without the backing of any judicial order. Now that the judiciary has passed its official order, it must be accepted.”Hazare said had there been any judicial ruling in Kejriwal’s favour earlier, he would not have made critical statements against the former Delhi chief minister. The 88-year-old social activist had earlier criticised Kejriwal and his government over the liquor policy. Hazare had alleged that it encouraged alcohol consumption. In one of his letters to Kejriwal in 2022, Hazare had even mentioned that Kejriwal was intoxicated by power.Hazare said Kejriwal was a social worker and his former colleague. He said Kejriwal worked with him during the protest against corruption and he shared a personal relation with the latter. “I would advise him to keep doing good things for the society and country, and not think much about himself or the party,” he said.
