‘Violence is no solution’: Anna Hazare urges PM to initiate dialogue with protesting students

Anna Hazare stated on Thursday that violence can never be the solution to any issue.

The veteran social activist’s remark came a day after he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention to the police action during the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

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“Narendra Modi is a prominent and respected leader of the country. He should understand that violence is never the way forward,” Hazare told media persons.

“Whatever happened was wrong. I have led 22 hunger strikes in my lifetime but no incident of violence took place. Central government representatives should visit the protesters at Jantar Mantar. There is nothing wrong with listening to the protestors,” he added.

In his letter to PM Modi on Wednesday, the 89-year-old Gandhian stated that reports of violence and police action were “painful” and that violence, damage to public property, and unnecessary use of force had no place in a democracy.

Hazare stated in his letter to the PM that the concerns of young people about question paper leaks, delays in recruitment processes, unemployment and other issues should not be viewed merely as law and order problems but as a reflection of wider social distress.

He assured the Prime Minister that a Union cabinet minister’s resignation would not weaken the government but would send a strong message to other ministers about accountability, thereby improving their performance.

The letter referred to the CJP’s ‘Chalo Sansad’ march, which protested NEET examination irregularities and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, but the protest saw violence after police used tear gas and lathi charge to disperse protestors.

Hazare noted in his letter that irregularities in the NEET examination system had caused anxiety among students and parents. He maintained that accountability for irregularities and failures should not be limited to lower-level officials; senior authorities must also be held responsible.

Hazare wrote to the Prime Minister after Opposition parties attacked the Central government and adopted the demands made by CJP protestors for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

He stated that in a democracy, dialogue is always a better path than confrontation, even as he urged the central government not to view the voice of the people as the opposition’s voice.

He asserted that differences are natural in a democracy, but they should be resolved through dialogue, sensitivity and mutual respect.

The Gandhian activist pointed out that whenever irregularities or scams came to light, responsibility was often fixed only on lower-level officials while the government claimed credit for positive outcomes, emphasising that the ultimate responsibility rested with senior officials.

Hazare questioned why no senior government representative or secretary-level official had engaged with the agitators despite the protest continuing for several days.