I am happy to be a mediator for Anna: Bhaiyyuji Maharaj

“The moment veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare broke his fast by sipping coconut water and honey offered to him by two young girls, Simran and Iqra - one a Dalit and the other a Muslim, I felt so relieved and happy that I have taken the responsibility of meeting all the needs of the two girls till their marriage,” said Bhaiyyuji Maharaj.

The spiritual guru played a crucial role in getting the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader break his fast.

He arrived in Pune on Sunday night to spend time with his ailing cancer-stricken father admitted to Noble Hospital, Hadapsar. His seven-year-old daughter and wife also stay in Pune.

“I have known Annaji for 12 years as we have worked on various rural development programmes. Anna recognises and respects my work. In fact, under his guidance, I am also developing a village called Kapileshwar in Akola,” said the spiritual guru, who was once a model for Siyaram’s Suiting.

Very hard to believe that this jeans-clad godman, who is also active on Twitter and Facebook, has a huge following including political heavyweights like Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Uddhav Thackeray, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Patil, Harshwardhan Patil, Vinayak Mete, Gopinath Munde, RR Patil and Anil Deshmukh.

Apparently, he was requested to play the role of a mediator due to his proximity to political leaders and Anna.

He came into the scene on the 4th day of Anna’s fast.

“I initially met Union minister Kapil Sibal and then Annaji to understand and hear their opinion. My aim was to see that a solution come out where the Parliament is given respect, the Indian Constitution shouldn’t be ignored and should be kept as the highest guiding light and the emotions of citizens should also not be undermined. I also had to make sure that Annaji’s pride and self-respect should not be hurt,” the Indore-based spiritual guru said.

This new negotiator on behalf of Team Anna along with Medha Patkar and Prashant Bhushan met Salman Khurshid, Nitin Gadkari and several Union ministers in Delhi to ensure that an amicable decision is made as soon as possible especially due to
Annaji’s health.

“I made an 11-point draft along with Sibal and presented it to Anna. That was the first breakthrough.

On that draft, further discussions and talks happened,” he said.
Bhaiyyu said that he would be happy to help both the parties till the bill is passed in the Parliament.