Traitors have forgotten Bhagat Singh: Hazare

Chandigarh, March 23 (IANS) Social activist Anna Hazare said on Monday that some traitors in the country have forgotten the sacrifices made by martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Talking to reporters after paying homage to Bhagat Singh and other martyrs at Bhagat Singh's ancestral village Khatkar Kalan in Punjab's Nawanshahr district, Hazare said the country was observing the day when these three martyrs sacrificed their lives to secure freedom for the country.

"Par kuchh gaddar log bhool gaye hain. Jinhone desh ke liye kurbaani di, unhi ko bhool gaye (But some traitors have forgotten them. People who sacrificed their lives for the country have been forgotten)," Hazare lamented.

However, Hazare did not specify who these "traitors" were.

Referring to present-day politicians, he said they were only running after power and money.

"Satta se paisa, paisa se satta. Iske peeche ghoom rahe hain bas (money from power and power from money. They are only running after that)," Hazare said.

However, Hazare was optimistic that some youth still remembered the sacrifices of the martyrs and followed their path.

"Some youth have gone astray but some youth still remember them," he said.

Earlier, Hazare arrived in Khatkar Kalan, 80 km from Chandigarh, along the Jalandhar-Chandigarh highway, and paid homage to the martyrs.

Khatkar Kalan is the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh from his maternal side. He spent a few years of his life in the village.

The village has the house of his maternal grandfather, which has been turned into a monument, and a museum in the memory of Bhagat Singh.