Hazare, who became a prominent face of India’s anti-corruption movement, has been a significant figure in public life for decades. Reacting to Dipke’s comments, BJP leader Amit Malviya said, “We don’t need to take any inspiration from Buddhas like Anna Hazare!” Dipke himself had participated in the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement as a school student and was associated with the campaign’s iconic “Main Anna Hazare” imagery. It was against this backdrop that Malviya questioned whether the language used against Hazare would be considered acceptable if directed at someone within the speaker’s own family. The controversy therefore goes beyond the disagreement between a young political activist and a veteran social campaigner.