Anna Hazare released from jail after India-wide protests, begins fasting

[Kinetic]

Uma Bharti, Chautala heckled at Hazare protest


Glad the supporters boo(t)ed the f*** ba**** politicos.

Good to see they are keeping politicians away, now people will support them more.

 

[justanobserver]

Dear Manmohan Singhji, Do not insult my wisdom: Anna Hazare

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare today shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, slamming the reaction of his government and the Congress party to his indefinite fast on the Lokpal Bill issue, and urged him to show courage to take unprecedented steps to fight the menace.

Responding to Congress' criticism that his protest was "premature", 72-year-old Hazare said authorities resort to "malicious slandering" whenever cornered and asserted that he was not a kind of person who could be "instigated" into going on an indefinite fast.

He alleged that "their spokespersons are misleading the nation".

Hazare, who launched his fast-unto-death yesterday here, told reporters that he was willing to join a committee on the Bill issue only if Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was a member of it, maintaining that any other such body would lack powers.

Referring to the criticism of his protest, Hazare said in the letter, "Dear Manmohan Singhji, this is an insult to my sense of wisdom and intelligence... I take advice from many friends and critics but do what my conscience directs me to do. It is my experience that when cornered, governments resort to such malicious slandering. I am pained that the government, rather than addressing the issue of corruption, is trying to allege conspiracies when there are none," he said.



In the letter, Hazare said the activists were not asking for accepting the Bill drafted by them but create a "credible platform" -- a joint committee with at least half its members from civil society.

"Your spokespersons are misleading the nation when they say there is no precedent for setting up a joint committee. At least seven laws in Maharashtra were drafted by similar joint committees and presented in the state Assembly.

"Even at the Centre, when 25,000 tribals came to Delhi two years ago, your government set up a joint committee on land issues within 48 hours. You (Singh) yourself are the Chairperson of that Committee. This means the government is willing to set up joint committees on all other issues but not corruption. Why?" he asked in the letter.

Addressing the press at the protest site at Jantar Mantar here, Hazare said there is a talk of a joint committee but they are constituting such a committee which will have no powers.

"Is (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi in there? We will not go to any committee which does not have any powers. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan requested me to attend the committee. If Sonia is ready to attend the meeting, we are ready. If she is not ready, why should we go," he asked.

Hazare, however, said Singh is a "good man" who is not tainted by corruption. "Remote control se gadbadi hote hei. (The problems are created when a remote control operates )," he said.

On questions about Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar whom he had criticised yesterday, Hazare said the question was not whether Pawar is removed or not from the Group of Ministers on the corruption issue.

"If Pawar is removed, his brother will come there. What we need is not a committee of ministers. We need a committee involving the public," he said.

Hazare said he was ready to die for his cause. "Some people have given a contract to kill me. Somebody has given Rs 30 lakh to kill me. But they say they will not kill Anna but they say they will kill Anna's men," he claimed.

Asked whether he and his supporters will support the government if they decide to bring the Lokpal Bill in the Monsoon session, Hazare said they are ready for it.

"But tell us what is in this Bill. They will make a 'golmaal' draft. They will cheat us. We repeat our demand for a joint committee," he said.

Countering allegations that he had shown impatience, Hazare said in the letter to Singh that every government has shown "complete insensitivity and lack of political commitment" to tackle corruption.

He said, "Sixty-three years after independence, we still do not have independent and effective anti-corruption systems. Very weak versions of Lokpal Bill were presented in Parliament eight times in the last 42 years. Even these weak versions were not passed by Parliament.

"This means, left to themselves, the politicians and bureaucrats will never pass any law which subjects them to any kind of objective scrutiny. At a time when the country has witnessed scams of unprecedented scale, the impatience of the entire country is justified. And we call upon you, not to look for precedents, but show courage to take unprecedented steps."

 

[indopak]

ANNA EFFECT
After Anna attack, Pawar quits GoM on corruption

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) Under attack from social activist and anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today quit the Group of Ministers(GoM) on corruption, saying he does not want to be "associated" with the panel anymore.

Pawar, the NCP supremo, said that he has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informing him that he does not want to be remain with the Ministerial panel. The panel is headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"I have told Prime Minister in writing about quitting the GoM on corruption. I have informed him that I don't want to remain anymore with the panel. I don't want to be associated with it. The chapter is closed from my side", Pawar told PTI tonight,

His action came hours after he said that he would be happy to be relieved from all ministerial panels, including that on corruption.

 

[indopak]

when will he's going to resign from the ministry

 

[sab]

I wonder how the Lokpal bill was introduced in Parliament so many times just to get lapsed. The members there become very active when it is about to increase their salary and other benefits. But they do not have time to consider a bill against corruption or people's grievences. They are no more our representatives, they have made a seperate class for themselves and they think they have the permission to do whatever they wish.

We should request to everyone to come forward in support of these people who dare to challenge the cartel of the politicians-bureaucrats-criminals. We must not single out any particular politician or political party to criticise or to support, because we need to bring necessary change in the system so that it can keep check on our powerful rulers. If the system is not right we cant expect good governance from any political party.

Hope we will do more than just writing in the forum or facebook...........

 

[sab]

A hostile reception was offered to politicians Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala when they tried to join the protest at Jantar Mantar, where veteran activist Anna Hazare is on a hunger strike to demand that the government introduce an effective law to combat corruption.

We will see many politicians trying to get a mileage from here.........hope they will be kept out....

 

[Wonderer]

when will he's going to resign from the ministry

He will not. he is blood sucker , biggest mafia.

 

[srsrsr]

when will he's going to resign from the ministry

Nah, that's not going to happen...he wants to have workf-life balance, hence glad some work load is offloaded

 

[sab]

Ek baat aur, Whenever Anna hazzare has protested in history of India against any political party, that party lost electoions.. Bye bye congress in 2013

Hazare is not protesting against any particular political party.....he is protesting against the frauds who make us believe that we are living in a democracy.....

 

[Wonderer]

I was thinking exactly same, going to post it. If Sachin led some prominent Indian cricketers tells few words in favor of it it will be great help for the nation.

Joking?

Cricket - BCCI - Sharad Pawar-Corruption-Anna hazare

who will get into this mess?

 

[Trident]

Who is Anna Hazare?

He once contemplated suicide and even wrote a two-page essay on why he wanted to end his life. Anna Hazare was not driven to such a pass by circumstances. He wanted to live no more because he was frustrated with life and wanted an answer to the purpose of human existence.

The story goes that one day at the New Delhi Railway Station, he chanced upon a book on Swami Vivekananda. Drawn by Vivekananda's photograph, he is quoted as saying that he read the book and found his answer - that the motive of his life lay in service to his fellow humans.

Today, Anna Hazare is the face of India's fight against corruption. He has taken that fight to the corridors of power and challenged the government at the highest level. People, the common man and well-known personalities alike, are supporting him in the hundreds swelling to the thousands.

For Anna Hazare, it is another battle. And he has fought quite a few. Including some as a soldier for 15 years in Indian Army. He enlisted after the 1962 Indo-China war when the government exhorted young men to join the Army.

In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion and returned home to Ralegaon Siddhi, a village in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmadnagar. He was 39 years old.

He found farmers back home struggling for survival and their suffering would prompt him to pioneer rainwater conservation that put his little hamlet on the international map as a model village.

The villagers revere him. Thakaram Raut, a school teacher in Ralegaon Siddhi says, "Thanks to Anna's agitations, we got a school, we got electricity, we got development schemes for farmers.''

Anna Hazare's fight against corruption began here. He fought first against corruption that was blocking growth in rural India. His organization - the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (People's movement against Corruption). His tool of protest - hunger strikes. And his prime target - politicians.

His weapon is potent. In 1995-96, he forced the Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra to drop two corrupt Cabinet Ministers. In 2003, he forced the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state government to set up an investigation against four ministers.

Maharashtra stalwarts like Sharad Pawar and Bal Thackeray have often called his style of agitation nothing short of "blackmail".

But Anna Hazare has soldiered on relentless. From one battle to another in his war against corruption. He fought from the front to have Right to Information (RTI) implemented. He is now fighting for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill, an anti-corruption bill drafted by leading members of civil society that envisages speedy action in corruption cases against everyone, including ministers and senior bureaucrats.

More than 30 years after Anna Hazare started his crusade, as the 72-year-old observes a hunger strike in Delhi against large-scale corruption at the national level, nothing really has changed except the scale of his battle.


Read more at: Who is Anna Hazare?

 

[SpArK]

A small off topic news which went unnoticed.

news.outlookindia.com | Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind Merges with BJP

 

[sab]

seriously. if an old man like him can show such an iron will then why cant we youth do the same.
its time when we youth started talking responsibilities.

Man..we will love you from bottom of our hearts for this particular post....

 

[Skull and Bones]

A small off topic news which went unnoticed.

news.outlookindia.com | Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind Merges with BJP

This deserves a separate thread. This will be a slap to some who still thinks Hindus and Muslims in India are separated.

 

[mehboobkz]

Aamir Khan's letter to Anna Hazare