Hero’s welcome for India’s anti-corruption crusader Hazare
Campaigner Anna Hazare invokes the memory of Gandhi as he begins a public hunger strike in a bid to force the Indian government to introduce tough new anti-corruption laws.
India’s most prominent anti-corruption campaigner has begun a public hunger strike after being released from prison in New Delhi.
Anna Hazare, 73, invoked the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who led the country to indepence from British rule, as he called for a new law against graft.
Hazare appeared dressed in white in front of an enormous portrait of Gandhi at the Ramlila fairground just hours after stepping out his prison cell on Friday.
He was cheered by a crowd of around 10,000 supporters as he told them: “These traitors have looted the country. We will not tolerate it anymore.”
Hazare was arrested on Tuesday after he declared his intention to hold a public hunger strike in defiance of the police.
He began his fast in jail and then refused to leave when they tried to free him, demanding the right to hold a public demonstration.
A compromise was reached on Thursday that would allow him to hold a 15-day protest, but Hazare opted to stay in prison an extra day as the venue was being prepared.
His standoff with authorities has attracted mass support and put Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government on the back foot as it fights off a raft of scandals.
Sympathy protests were organised across the country, with thousands marching in Mumbai, government employees in the state of Rajasthan holding a half-day strike and thousands of lawyers staying away from work in central India.
Anti-corruption bill
Hazare’s wants the government to pass his version of an anti-corruption bill, creating a powerful ombudsman to police top officials, instead of a weaker current bill being tabled in parliament.
His critics say he is trying to subvert the legislative process and force elected officials to bow to his agenda.
Corruption is part of daily life in India, with people routinely paying small bribes to officials and police.
On the other end of the scale, the Indian government has been accused of losing billions of public money by awarding mobile phone licences to companies at below-market prices in exchange for payments. The accused, former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja, denies any wrongdoing.