By IANS,
New Delhi: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare said Wednesday he lived in a temple in Maharashtra, and his only possessions were a plate to eat food and a bed to sleep on.
Speaking briefly about himself after launching a day’s fast at Rajghat, Hazare said: “I have nothing except a plate to have food and a bed to sleep. I have no bank balance.”
He said he had not visited his home in his village in Ahmednagar district for 35 years.
“I have three brothers. I don’t know the names of their children.”
Despite his austere lifestyle, he said he was “a very happy and contented man”.
Hazare also told the cheering crowds that he had “claimed the wickets of six cabinet ministers” in Maharashtra over corruption. His efforts had led to the sacking of more than 400 corrupt officers.
“I am fighting big goondas… One of the ministers (who lost his job) gave out a ‘supari’ (underworld contract) to kill me.”
He said his life changed when, at age 26, he came across a book by Swami Vivekananda. “I decided then and there to live only for the welfare of the country and the society.”
The values important in life, he said, were noble thought and honesty.