Hazare protest stalls parliament(4)

New Delhi:Both houses of parliament were Tuesday adjourned till 2 p.m. as opposition MPs stalled proceedings over the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, whose fast for a strong Lokpal bill entered day eight.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded immediate discussions in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on corruption in the country, leading to repeated disruptions of the house.

In the Lok Sabha, there was a prolonged verbal duel between Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj (BJP) and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal following which Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 12 noon.

Bansal objected as Sushma Swaraj – who had given a notice for suspension of the question hour for a discussion on the Hazare fast and recent developments – mentioned recent corruption scandals like the 2G spectrum scam and the Adarsh Housing Society scandal. He said she was deviating from the topic.

The BJP leader said the issues were related.

Bansal then suggested the discourse be transformed into a special discussion on corruption, for which the government was ready.

But Sushma Swaraj demanded that the question hour be suspended and discussion be held. As the arguments and counter arguments continued amid noisy support from the MPs of each side, the speaker adjourned the house.

Sushma Swaraj said Hazare’s protest was against the “corruption resorted to by the government” and the government could not wash its hands of it.

“Scams after scams are being revealed. People are facing the brunt of price rise and ministers are looting crores (of rupees),” she said.

She said the Lokpal proposed to be set up by the government’s bill had “neither teeth nor eyes”.

“It is totally ineffective,” Sushma Swaraj said.

When MPs reconvened at 12, the noisy scenes returned even as some papers, including ministry reports, were laid on the table.

This time the speaker allowed the special discussion, under Rule 193. However, she first allowed DMK’s T.R. Baalu to conclude his address on Tamils in Sri Lanka which he had started last week.

BJP MPs objected to this saying the discussion on corruption should be held first. Amid a ruckus, Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

There were similar scenes in the Rajya Sabha with the BJP demanding that question hour be suspended for a discussion on corruption.

As soon as the upper house met, members of the BJP, which had submitted a notice to suspend the question hour and take up the discussion, were up on their feet insisting on their demand.

Ruling party members tried to counter the opposition by shouting slogans demanding that question hour proceed.

Repeated pleas from Chairman Hamid Ansari for raising the issue after question hour went unheard and the house was adjourned till 12 noon.

When the upper house met after the disruption, opposition members were once again on their feet.

The government assured the members that the discussion woud be held at 2 p.m., but the opposition refused to be pacified.

“We have kept a discussion for 2 p.m.,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla assured the opposition members.

But the members continued to raise their pitch.

“The main opposition party is trying to run away from discussion,” Shukla said.

As opposition members continued the uproar, deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan adjourned the house till 2 p.m

 

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Lokpal stand-off: Govt to convene all-party meet(0)

New Delhi: The government has called an all-party meeting Wednesday to discuss and evolve a wider consensus on Anna Hazare’s Lokpal bill demands, sources said Tuesday.

The sources from various political parties confirmed that the government has convened the meeting Wednesday afternoon to find a way to break the stand-off with the anti-corruption crusader whose fast entered its eighth day Tuesday.

They said the government was looking at possibilities of incorporating some of Hazare’s demands but would rather have a dialogue with other political parties for a wider political consensus.
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Kanimozhi places PM, Chidambaram in 2G loop(0)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Finance Minister P Chidambaram were fully in the loop on the 2G spectrum license allocation and had decided along with then Telecom Minister A Raja not to auction them, jailed DMK MP Kanimozhi told a Delhi court Tuesday.

“I am showing you (judge) the minutes of the meeting in which the Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister and the Telecom Minister decided that the licences for the 2G spectrum was not to be sold/auctioned,” senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Kanimozhi, told the Special CBI Judge O P Saini.

Seeking discharge from the case, the counsel for the 43-year-old DMK MP, said the CBI case is based on the premise that the accused caused huge loss to the state exchequer by not auctioning the licences for the 2G spectrum.

“The Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister and the present Telecom Minister are ‘good enough’ as witnesses to prove that there was no loss. They are on record in Parliament that the government did not incur any loss,” Kumar said.

“The moment, the loss factor goes out, the charge of cheating also goes out,” Kumar said, adding that the basic foundation of the CBI case cannot sustain the legal process. The defence counsel also trashed the computation of loss by the CBI and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) saying they are “just notional loss” and cannot be a basis for prosecution of the accused.

“The CAG report (of loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the state) was laid before the House on November 16, 2010. It had not been adopted by the House. It is still in the limbo as the House is yet to adopt the report,” the counsel said.

The counsel for Kanimozhi also disputed the computation of loss of Rs.30,984 crore by the CBI saying it too has no basis as the charge sheet said that government could have earned more by auctioning the licences.

“The words — could have — cannot be the basis of prosecution as the relevant paragraph in the charge sheet is (a) full myth,” the defence counsel said. “The sale of equities by Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd (the two alleged beneficiaries of the scam) to foreign firms, Etisalat and Telenor, respectively were approved by the government. It was not the sale of the licences and hence there was no loss,” the defence counsel argued.

“Where is the sale (of the licences)? Where is the cheating?” asked the counsel for the DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s daughter, arrested by the CBI on May 30 for her alleged role in the scam. Her arguments, opposing charges of corruption and other penal offences like cheating and hatching criminal conspiracy in the 2G scam is still on.

Kanimozhi’s arguments seeking her discharge from the case virtually echoed those of former Teleceom Minister A Raja who too had sought to rope in the Prime Minister and Chidamabaram in the case, telling the court that the issue of dilution of equity by spectrum licencees was discussed with them. Her counsel is the same as that for Raja — senior advocate Sushil Kumar.

 

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Hazare, Govt reach agreement(0)

New Delhi: After two nights in Tihar Jail and hard bargaining, Anna Hazare and government reached an agreement early Thursday morning under which Delhi Police removed all restrictions and allowed him to carry out his hunger strike for a fortnight in the spacious Ramlila Maidan here.

The breakthrough in the battle of attribution between the two sides came in the wee hours of the day after top aides of Hazare met Delhi Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta and reached an agreement.

The deal marks a major climbdown from government and police’s earlier insistence that the fast would be allowed at JP Park, a smaller venue, only for three days with maximum of 5,000 protesters besides a number of other conditions.

The agreement came more than 40 hours after Hazare’s arrest of Tuesday and release the same night.

However, the Gandhian refused to come out of the jail, continued his fast and carried out hard negotiations from Tihar through his emissaries. Activist Kiran Bedi tweeted early morning that Hazare has accepted the Delhi Police offer of 15 days and announced that he will go to Ramlila Maidan after 3 p.m.

However, another close aide of the 73-year-old Gandhian said that it may not be possible for Hazare to launch his protest from the Ramlila Ground Thursday as the venue was full of muck and needs cleaning up. “I have just spoken to Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (K.S. Mehra) who has promised me that a Deputy Commissioner would supervise the cleaning up operations at the Maidan,” Kejriwal said. He said Hazare going to the protest venue “looked difficult” as of now.

“We can’t give a time as to whether it would start today…if it is possible, (he may do it).”

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Anna sent to Tihar Jail, protests engulf India(0)

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The Delhi Police detained veteran social activist Anna Hazare ahead of his indefinite fast over the proposed Lokpal Bill. The government went into panic mode yesterday, accusing the Gandhian activist of fudging his trust records and clamping ban orders on the venue of the fast. Arvind Kejriwal, another leader of the movement, has urged citizens to switch off lights in their homes for an hour from 8 pm today. Yahoo! India News brings you real-time updates on all the action.
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9: 30 pm: Congress says it walked ‘extra mile’ to accommodate Anna

The Congress said the UPA govt had walked the ‘extra mile’ to accommodate the concerns of Anna Hazare in drafting the anti-corruption Lokpal bill.

‘No other government involved the civil society in preparing a bill so far. The government walked the extra mile to accommodate the civil society led by Hazare,’ Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters.

9: 00 pm: Sibal faces protest from Hazare’s supporters at Delhi seminar

The supporters of veteran social activist Anna Hazare, who was arrested ahead of his scheduled indefinite fast, heckled Union Human Resource and Development Minister Kapil Sibal during a seminar on Lokpal.

They raised slogans and waved black flags, when he stood up to address the seminar. Police immediately intervened and took the protesters out of the hall.

8: 30 pm: Anna to be release tonight by 9:30

New flashes on television channels say Tihar Jail authorities have received orders to release Anna by 9:30pm.

8: 15 pm: Brinda Karat calls Hazare’s arrest a strong attack on democratic rights

Condemning the arrest of Anna Hazare, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat accuses the Congress Party of indulging in corruption.

“It is a strong attack on democratic rights and my party has strongly condemned it. It also reflects the Congress Party’s refusal to tolerate any movement against the corruption. One can ask why? Why is Congress leadership is taking this decision? Clearly because their own government is steeped into corruption,” said Karat.

8: 00 pm: BJP terms Hazare’s arrest dictatorial

Condemning the arrest of veteran social activist Anna Hazare, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi accused the former of adopting dictatorial approach and added that it tried to infringe upon the fundamental right of the citizen to protest.

7: 30 pm: Protests in Anna’s village after his arrest

People in Anna’s village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar District protested against his arrest in Delhi. Condemning the arrest, many villagers including women and children marched to the local Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus depot and raised slogans against the government.

Jaisingh Mahapari, a villager, said that the whole village supported the movement led by Hazare and that they were ready to get arrested by the police.

7: 00 pm: Activists for and against Hazare

Social activists are deeply divided over the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare. While human rights activist Swami Agnivesh says the movement has a groundswell of popular support, activist and columnist Shabnam Hashmi feels Hazare has adopted an authoritarian attitude and is supported by right-wing groups.

6: 40 pm: Kiran Bedi, Shanti Bhushan released

‘Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan have been released,’ Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat told reporters. He said theirs was ‘preventive arrest’.

Bedi and Bhushan were detained under the Delhi Police Act, on charges of refusing to comply with the directions given by a police officer.

6: 10 pm: Team Anna versus government: Information warfare hots up

A full-blown information warfare has broken out between Team Anna and the government, with both sides deploying social media tools, SMS and e-mail campaigns to drum up support and run down each other – in what is proving to be a serious crisis for the UPA government.

While supporters of Team Anna have launched a SMS blitzkrieg asking people to court arrest and go on mass leave to join the protesters, the government has launched both overt and covert information offensive to undermine civil society activists that sometimes verged on slander and character assassination.

6: 05 pm: Farooq Abdullah tweets on Anna’s arrest
Farooq Abdullah’s tweet on the arrest: Anna Hazare in the company of Kalmadi, Raja and Kanimozhi. The lady of justice is indeed blind.

6: 00 pm Hazare faces complaint in Bhopal on flag hoisting

Anna Hazare may face trouble in Madhya Pradesh with a complainant moving court here for action against him for allegedly hoisting the national flag after sunset during a TV show.

‘The plea has been accepted and the next court hearing will take place Aug 25,’ said R.K. Pandey, lawyer of petitioner Prakash Thakur.

5: 45 pm: Over 3000 detained in Mumbai after protests over Anna Hazare’s arrest

Over 3,000 people were picked on the charges of unlawful assembly from across Mumbai on Tuesday after they held demonstrations protesting against the police action against activist Anna Hazare, hours before he was to launch his fast against corruption, police said.

5: 15 pm: Anna will share space with Kalmadi, Raja
Sent to seven days’ judicial custody, Anna Hazare will share space in Tihar jail with A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi, both accused in high-profile scams.

4: 40 pm: Shanti Bhushan: Architect of Lokpal bill

Saga of the fearless lawyer, who stood against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi forty years ago and has now come forward to fight the government against the corruption.

4: 25 pm: Anna arrest: parties join hands to corner Govt

The UPA Government is finding itself isolated on the issue of arresting Anna Hazare and his supporters with all the opposition parties deciding to form a common strategy to take on the Government.

All the opposition parties met at 2 PM in Parliament and decided on a joint strategy to corner the government. The Left Front proposed that all the opposition parties should boycott Parliament proceedings for the next three days to protest against the arrest of Hazare and his supporters.story on CNN IBN

4: 15 pm: FAQ: Why Anna Hazare is wrong and Lok Pal a bad idea
‘The Acorn’s latest post talks about whether we really need a Lok Pal Bill to fight corruption.
4.03 pm: Anna Hazare gets 7-day custody, sent to Tihar Jail
A Special Magistrate Court sent the 74-year-old social activist to Tihar Jail after he refused to sign a personal bond. Hazare was asked to sign an undertaking promising that he would not violate Section 144.

The Anna Hazare team earlier in the day said that they will approach the Supreme Court against the detention ahead of the proposed indefinite fast, claiming that the police action was ‘totally undemocratic’.

Meanwhile, the BJP demands an answer from the Prime Minister on Anna’s arrest. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley says the government can not take away people’s right to protest.

4.00 pm: Anna Hazare detained, India outraged

Civil society activist Anna Hazare was detained by Delhi Police, shortly before he was to begin an indefinite fast to press for a strong anti-corruption Lokpal Bill, triggering swathes of unrest across the country and pitting the government against not just the opposition but also large sections of the public.

Hazare’s associates Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan were also detained along with about 1,000 supporters. As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the move smacked of the excesses during Emergency and parliament was stalled, the outrage spread across the country with reports of protests coming in from virtually every corner.

3.30 pm: Anna detained for his ‘madness’, says tourism minister

Union Tourism Minister and senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay justified Anna Hazare’s detention in New Delhi, saying he was arrested for his ‘madness’.

‘Anna Hazare was detained due to his madness for being bent upon a fast-unto-death even as his major demands were accepted by the government,’ said Sahay, the Lok Sabha MP from this Jharkhand capital.

3.00 pm: Tactics of govt. akin to those of British: Shanti Bhushan

Criticising the government over the detention of Anna Hazare, senior lawyer and social activist Shanti Bhushan on Tuesday said that the tactics of former were akin to those of the British.

“We did not expect to be detained despite not violating any rules. The Government is nervous, it does not want to let go of corrupt practices. They are treating us like the British. Today’s government is similar to that of Winston Churchill,” Bhushan said.

2.30 pm: Government not against protests: Mukherjee

Every citizen has the right to protest and the government is not against protests per se but the manner of protests, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

‘Everyone has the right to protest but there is a method of protesting,’ Mukherjee told reporters.

‘It is the legitimate right of every individual to hold protests but at the same time there are certain rules and laws. If police considers that a particular action may lead to law and order problem, then police can impose certain conditions,’ he added.

2.15 pm: Kiran Bedi says ‘emergency’ has revisited the country

Terming the detention of veteran social activist Anna Hazare as undemocratic and unconstitutional, civil society activist Kiran Bedi said that emergency has revisited the country.

” This is totally undemocratic and un -constitutional. This has not been done by Delhi Police; somebody else is behind it. Delhi Police is capable enough to handle such peaceful protests,” she said.

1.45 pm: Sushma demands explanation from PM on Hazare’s detention

Hours after veteran social activist Anna Hazare was detained by the police from Supreme Enclave in Mayur Vihar for defying prohibitory orders and vowing to go ahead with his fast, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj condemned the incident, and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh make a statement in Lok Sabha on the issue.

“A statement from the Home Minister on the issue (Hazare) is not acceptable to us. We want the Prime Minister’s statement in the House. Whatever has happened, the Prime Minister must explain,” Swaraj said.

1.30 pm: Delhi Police working independently: Ambika Soni

Delhi Police was not acting under political pressure but had detained civil society activist Anna Hazare to maintain law and order, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said.

1.00 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned over Anna arrest

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned amid noisy scenes and arguments between the opposition and treasury benches over the detention of civil society activist Anna Hazare and his associates.

12.30 pm:  Detention is beginning of India’s second freedom struggle: Hazare

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare, who was detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday, described it as the beginning of India’s second freedom struggle.

“My dear countrymen, the second freedom struggle has begun and now I have also been arrested. But will this movement be stopped by my arrest? No, not at all. Don’t let it happen,” Hazare said soon after being detained by the police.

12.15 pm: Hazare detained for wanting to defy order: R K Singh

Home Secretary R K Singh said social activist Anna Hazare was detained because he said he intended to defy prohibitory orders and sit on a fast. “Anna Hazare stated that he will defy the prohibitory orders. So, he has been detained,’ Singh told reporters.

Delhi Police had denied permission for his fast after he refused to abide by all the 22 conditions set by them for the agitation.

11.50 am: Advani slams Govt. over Anna’s detention

Slamming the government over the detention of veteran social activist Anna Hazare, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani said instead of dealing with the problem of corruption and owning responsibility, the former is trying to find scapegoats and is stopping peaceful protests.

“I am not surprised at this development. This is the direction in which this government is moving,” NDTV quoted Advani as, saying.

11.30 am: Shutdown in Hazare’s village, protests in Pune, Mumbai

Residents of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi took to the streets to protest the detention of the anti-corruption crusader in New Delhi. There were demonstrations in Pune and Mumbai too.

11.00 am: Team Anna to move Supreme Court against detentions

Terming the detention of veteran social activist Anna Hazare as totally undemocratic, senior lawyer and member of the committee constituted for the Lokpal Bill, Prashant Bhushan said they will approach the Supreme Court.

“The action showed that the government has no regard for fundamental rights of the citizens. We will move the Supreme Court,” said Bhushan. “Time has come to rise up against this government. We appeal to people to protest against the government peacefully,” he added.
10.30 am: Demonstrations in Lucknow against Hazare’s detention

People across various age groups and different walks of life held demonstrations in this Uttar Pradesh

capital to protest the detention of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in New Delhi.

10.00 am: Activists fast in Himachal to support Anna

Several activists began an indefinite hunger strike in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi town to press for a strong anti-corruption Lokpal bill and express solidarity with civil society leader Anna Hazare, who was detained early morning in the national capital.

9.30 am: Manmohan Singh convenes CCPA meet over Hazare’s detention

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh convened an emergency meeting of Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs (CCPA) to discuss the strategy after crackdown on Team Anna. As per reports, Home Minister P Chidambaram is meeting the Prime Minister ahead of the CCPA meet.

9.00 am: BJP condemns Hazare’s arrest

Condemning the arrest of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday said the government would learn its lesson ‘the hard way’.

‘It is regrettable and condemnable. This government is bent upon crushing anyone who wants to protest against corruption,’ BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

8 am: Delhi Police arrest Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Kejriwal

On Tuesday morning, over a dozen plain-clothed policemen landed at lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s house in Mayur Vihar, where Hazare was staying, and detained the Gandhian activist minutes before he was to set out for Rajghat, from where he had planned to head to the Jai Prakash Narain (JP) Park to begin his fast.
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August 15th, 2011
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8.00 pm: Hazare calls for jail bharo after ban orders

Anna Hazare paid a surprise visit to Rajghat and meditated for a while, causing tension to the police, addressed a press conference in the evening. He said there was need for struggle to fight corruption and change the existing ‘anti-poor system’. The social activist declared he was ready to go to jail and called for a ‘jail bharo’ agitation.

7.00 pm: Team Anna, government headed for showdown

Team Anna Hazare and the government were Monday night set for a showdown after Delhi Police refused to let them hold a fast from Tuesday for a stronger Lokpal Bill and the social activist declared he was ready to go to jail.

6.00 pm: Ban orders imposed at Hazare protest venue

The Delhi Police Monday night imposed ban orders at JP Park here where social activist Anna Hazare is to hold a protest fast from Tuesday morning.

The development came even as a large number of Hazare’s supporters started gathering at the park with candles and flaming torches in their hands.

The police have imposed Section 144 – that bans the gathering of five or more people – at the park, near Ferozeshah Kotla ground, the venue that the police had earlier told Hazare he could hold his protest fast in.

5.00 pm: Hazare to court arrest; calls for struggle to change system

Calling for a struggle to fight corruption and change the ‘anti-poor’ system, social activist Anna Hazare said he will court arrest Tuesday if the police does not allow him to reach the venue of his fast. He also appealed to people to go to jail in support of the anti-corruption struggle.

‘We will go to JP Park tomorrow (Tuesday) for our fast. I have learnt that Section 144 (prohibiting gathering of five or more people) has been imposed. If they (police) refuse to allow us to proceed, we will sit there only. We are ready to go to jail. I appeal to people all over the country that when we go to jail, people in villages should also go to jail,’ Hazare told mediapersons here.

3.30 pm: Team Anna dares Govt., to move court if stopped from protesting

Terming the decision of the Delhi Police as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘undemocratic’, Supreme Court lawyer and member of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee, Prashant Bhushan, said the civil society activists would move the court if they were stopped from protesting. Read more

2.00 pm: Govt. always suppresses anti-corruption crusaders, says Ramdev

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev accused the Central government of trying to suppress anti-corruption movements in the country.

Addressing mediapersons Ramdev said: “The government maligns the image of hose who raise their voice. People in the country must understand the intention of the overnment, even if it is Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and Balakrishna.”

“Earlier, even leaders like Jai Prakash Narain and even during the time of emergency, hoever dared to raise their voice was crushed by the government. This is still going on fter 64 years of independence,” he added.

1.00 pm: Kejriwal asks people to switch off home lights

Just after activist Anna Hazare addressed a conference here Monday evening to announced his anti-corruption strategy, his team member Arvind Kejriwal appealed to people to switch off lights in their homes for an hour as a mark of support for their cause.

People were asked to switch off lights for an hour starting 8 p.m. Monday. Kejriwal said: ‘I asked people to switch off the lights for one hour, as the kind of independence we have today in our country is incomplete.’

‘Nothing has been left untouched by corruption. Unfortunately, the government seems to be promoting it rather than preventing it. The government’s Lokpal bill is a complete eyewash and will shield corruption,’ he said.
12.00 pm: We are ready to go to jail: Anna

Calling for a struggle to fight corruption and change the existing system, social activist Anna Hazare Monday said he will court arrest Tuesday if the police does not allow him to reach the venue of his fast. He also appealed to people to go to jail in support of the anti-corruption struggle

‘We will go to JP Park tomorrow (Tuesday) for our fast. I have learnt that Section 144 (prohibiting gathering of five or more people) has been imposed. If they (police) refuse to allow us to proceed, we will sit there only. We are ready to go to jail. I appeal to people all over the country that when we go to jail, people in villages should also go to jail,’ Hazare said.
11.00 am: Want strong Lokpal, don’t fast: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government wants a ‘strong Lokpal’ and those who don’t agree with some aspects of a proposed legislation ‘should not resort to hunger strikes’.

‘We want a strong Lokpal to prevent corruption in high places. We have recently introduced a bill in parliament to achieve this,’ said Singh in his address to the nation’s 65th Independence Day. ‘Now only parliament can decide what type of Lokpal legislation should be enacted,’ he said from the ramparts of Red Fort

Hazare detained ahead of protest fast(0)

New Delhi: Hours before he was to launch his fast against corruption, Anna Hazare was Tuesday detained by Delhi Police here preventing him from going ahead with his protest. Two other prominent activists Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi were also taken into preventing custody at Rajghat, Delhi Police said. The 73-year-old Gandhian was taken into custody from a residential area in Mayur Vihar before he was to proceed to the venue of his fast in J P Park where prohibitory orders are in place. According to sources, senior police officials, including DCP (Crime) Ashok Chand, met with Hazare this morning at an east Delhi apartment where he was staying in a bid to convince him to not go ahead with his planned protest defying prohibitory orders at J P Park. However, Hazare turn down the request following which he was detained. “We have detained him as he did not budge from his position of defying prohibitory orders,” police official said. Flaying the police move, Bedi said, “Emergency has revisited the country.” “This detention is undemocratic and unconstitutional,” she said. Around 500 supporters were with Anna at the time of his detention. Chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and ‘Vande Matram,’ supporters created hurdles in the way of the police which were trying to take him to a nearby police station. Ahead of the proposed fast by the Gandhian, a group of people had thronged the east Delhi apartment where Hazare was staying to pledge their support to his protest. Security personnel, including some in plain clothes and some from the special branch, were deployed around the apartment premise. Around 500 police personnel have been deployed from early morning itself after the city police imposed Section 144 around the park, police sources said. Hazare had yesterday asked his supporters to fill up jails across the country if he was arrested after being denied permission to hold fast here. After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed him for resorting to fast as a protest when Parliament was seized of the Lokpal bill, the Gandhian had said he will go to J P park despite Delhi police imposing prohibitory orders. “I come to understand that I will be refused permission. We will go there. If I am arrested, I will continue my hunger strike in jail. If I am released, I will go back to the venue and this circle will continue,” he had said. He said once he is arrested, people should fill up the jails in every village across the country. “Going to jail for the country is no crime…It is a decoration,” he said. Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat had said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in some areas of Daryaganj and IP police stations, which include Jai Prakash Narain Park and Shaheed Park. Hazare had also accused the Prime Minister of “speaking” the language of his ministerial colleague Kapil Sibal, saying the Lokpal bill was before Parliament which will take the call.

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