Anna Hazare agrees to end hunger strike

 An Indian reform activist agreed Saturday to end an 11-day hunger strike after Parliament expressed nonbinding support for parts of his anti-graft plan, ending a drama that had deeply embarrassed a government plagued by corruption scandals.

The 74-year-old Anna Hazare had demanded sweeping legislation to create a government watchdog, but said Parliament's move was enough to persuade him to begin eating.

"It's only a half victory. Total victory is yet to come," he told thousands of cheering supporters at a protest ground in New Delhi. Hazare, who has lost more than 16 pounds (7.5 kilograms), said he planned to break his fast Sunday morning.

Following a nine-hour debate Saturday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that the "sense of the House" was in favor of Hazare's demands that the proposed bill ensure greater transparency in governance and include millions of low-level bureaucrats and state officials under its purview.

Lawmakers thumped their desks in support, and the bill was referred to a committee to be debated and revised.

"The Parliament has spoken ... and the will of the Parliament is the will of the people," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the NDTV news channel.

Hazare had called for a formal vote on the nonbinding resolution, but his aides said Parliament's actions still amounted to a victory for a protest that has attracted tens of thousands of supporters to his demonstration in the capital and more to rallies around the country.

"Now at least the Parliament has had to take cognizance of the people's wish, and that is to wipe out corruption from this country," said Medha Patkar, a protest organizer.

Hazare had initially wanted far more when he began his fast on Aug. 16, demanding the government withdraw its own bill to create a limited watchdog panel, introduce his far-reaching plan into Parliament and pass it with limited amendments by Aug. 30.

Government officials dismissed his plan — which would let the watchdog prosecute the prime minister, judiciary and state officials — as unconstitutional and his methods as a form of blackmail anathema to democracy.

Yet, the enormous outpouring of support for Hazare by Indians disgusted at the corruption infesting all aspects of public life surprised top officials and forced them to take him and his reform campaign seriously.

There is a need for "change in the system," Mukherjee told Parliament.

However, he dampened expectations for what the proposed bill could accomplish.

"Does any one of us believe seriously ... that any one piece of legislation, however powerful and effective it may be, however independent and empowered it may be, that piece of legislation will completely eradicate corruption?" he asked.

The government appeared to be flailing through much of Hazare's hunger strike as protest organizers used social media and India's breathless 24-hour news channels to spread their message and gather support.

But officials worked in recent days to retake control of the debate, and Singh's speech in Parliament on Thursday praising Hazare and offering to have lawmakers debate several proposed drafts of the bill, including Hazare's, appeared to turn the tide.

Hazare then softened his stand, asking only for Parliament to pass the nonbinding resolution on a few of his key demands.

Mukherjee kicked off the unscheduled debate Saturday by warning lawmakers they were bound by oath to act "within the constitutional framework, without violating supremacy of Parliament."

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party expressed dismay at the government's proposal for the anti-graft law, which does not include the prime minister and judiciary in its purview. But its senior lawmaker Arun Jaitley told the assembly that "nobody can dispute that Indian Parliament is supreme when it comes to law making."

Anna's fast unreasonable now: Govt's current line

The government is only too willing to provide him with the excuse to end the fast. The only priority now within the government is to ensure that he ends his fast on his own as it is not keen to pick him up and send him to hospital.

In keeping with Anna Hazare's suggestion which he made to Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh  whom he met on Thursday afternoon, he would be willing to end his fast if Parliament  begins discussion on the Lan Lokpal on Friday itself and considers it.

However, in evening his close aide Prashant Bhushan said that the veteran activist will end his fast only when Parliament passes the resolution.

The government immediately went into a huddle with Pranab Mukherjee  and Pawan Bansal meeting the prime minister where it was decided that they would bring in a resolution in the House on Friday itself where the Jan Lokpal Bill would be discussed.

According to information available, the resolution is likely to be along the lines of a discussion on the situation arising in the
country due to the anti-corruption agitation and the intention of the government to bring in a strong and effective Lokpal Bill to curb corruption.

The discussion would revolve around the provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill, the Aruna Roy Lokpal Bill and the Jaiprakash Narain Lokpal bill. All of them would be then sent to the standing committee for their consideration.

The government is also looking at how best to accommodate Hazare' demand for inclusion of the lower bureaucracy in the bill, the citizens charter and the setting up of state Lokpals.

Suggestions on this are also coming in from the Opposition as Parliament is now united against the manner in which Hazare and company are being adamant in their approach and not willing to adopt a reasonable point of view.

Sources said that senior opposition leaders, particularly in the Bharatiya Janata Party , have conveyed to Hazare that if he continues his fast now, it could become unproductive as support for him is dwindling.  

The brief for Hazare from the BJP leaders is "break the fast but continue the protest and the agitation" -- which seems to be the likely way forward for Hazare and company.

Sources say that the government made yet another mistake by not talking directly with Anna Hazare through a credible political functionary and instead talked to Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi  who were in any case not interested in a 'compromise.'

It is learnt that in the meeting held on Wednesday night with Pranab Mukherjee, the finance minister angrily told Bedi and Kejriwal that if anything happens to Anna Hazare, he would personally hold both of them responsible for it.

Sources say that there was a great deal of unrest in the government over the provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill. There is no doubt that Congress finds Jan Lokpal Bill "draconian, dictatorial and has the mindset of people who want to create another Gestapo in the country."

The government and the prime minister were clear that this could not be allowed at any cost with most political parties rejecting many of the formulations of Team Anna.

At the moment it looks like reasonable voices have been able to convince Anna Hazare to now end his fast and wait for the government to make the next move.

The fact that the PM issued a strong appeal from Parliament along with the entire House, appears to have also played a part in sending the message that the government is now looking reasonable while Hazare and his team are appearing
unreasonable.

Anna's fast enters on eighth day

Veteran Gandhian follower and social activists Anna Hazare's fast today enters on eighth day at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. He is on indefinite hunger strike for fulfilling his demand to present the tougher version of Lokpal bill in the Parliament to daunt corruption.

'He has lost 5 k.g. of weight but still his condition is stable and not critical.

He is feeling better,' a team of doctors who are continuously monitoring the health of Anna told to media.

Anna's aide and RTI activists Arvind Kejriwal informed the media that it was a political problem and required a political solution, not bureaucratic nor technical solution.

'Till today no truly responsible person from the government side has made any contact to Anna', Kejriwal added.

Arvind denied to this speculation that Anna only want to talk with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Congress Secretary Rahul Gandhi but he said that Anna was ready to make dialogue to anyone responsible person from the government side. ?The negotiators should be formal not informal,' said Arvind.

Viewing the rising support for Anna, the UPA government has decided to schedule an all parties meeting on 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Govt is looking for a wider political consensus before taking any decision over Anna?s team demand on Jan Lokpal bill.

Prime Minister on Tuesday held a meeting to the President of Parliament Standing Committee Abhishek Manu Singhvi over solving issues of Lokpal Bill. Earlier, Congress member Praveen Singh Aron has already submitted a copy of Hazare's Lokpal Bill for consideration of committee.

Public support continues to grow for Anna Hazare

Public support continued to grow for Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign on Sunday even as some civil society activists criticized his demands and methods, and the government appeared to be opening channels for talks.
Harish Rawat, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has initiated a “dialogue process” with Hazare and his supporters, who are demanding that their version of a draft law for instituting an anti-graft watchdog, or Lokpal, be adopted.


“The dialogue process has already been initiated at various levels through well-wishers. This dialogue is at various levels, which are not parallel to each other but complementary to each other,” Rawat told PTI news agency in Dehradun, adding that Hazare should understand the “constitutional limits” of the government.
Hazare has been on an indefinite fast since Tuesday, calling for the adoption of the so-called Jan Lokpal Bill.
“We have not shut any channels for talks. They are still open,” he said on the sixth day of his fast.
Addressing supporters, Hazare said he won’t move from the venue of his fast, the capital’s Ramlila Ground, until his demands are met. “It does not matter even if the Prime Minister comes. Unless the Jan Lokpal Bill comes, we will not move away from here.”
Umesh Chandra Sarangi, Maharashtra’s additional chief secretary, met Hazare on Saturday and Sunday, but Hazare’s team members denied he was a mediator.
“We have not got any feelers from the government till now... Anna Hazare did hand over copies of both the Bills to him (Sarangi), but it was a personal meeting,” said Manu Singh, a member of Hazare’s team.
The government introduced its version of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament this month. But the draft law does not bring the Prime Minister and the higher judiciary within the ambit of the Lokpal, as demanded by Hazare and his supporters.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said the government was in favour of a strong Lokpal Bill and there was a “lot of scope for give and take”.
The parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice has been studying the government’s Lokpal Bill. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a member of the ruling Congress party who heads the panel, said on Sunday the panel has also received the Jan Lokpal Bill formally.
The Bill was submitted to the panel by Congress Lok Sabha member Praveen Singh Aron, Singhvi said. “We will, of course, look into it very carefully, as indeed we will look into all the diverse aspects of civil society representations, political representations, and government representations.”
But Hazare’s campaign was criticized by some well-known social activists.
In a television interview, writer and activist Arundhati Roy said the Jan Lokpal Bill was creating an “oligarchy” and “handing the power to another set of people”.
Social activist Aruna Roy, who is also a member of the National Advisory Council, which sets the UPA government’s social agenda, said in an interview that she was not open to a debate on the Lokpal Bill at Hazare’s fast venue.
“I feel that parliamentary procedures and that it (the Bill) being in front of the standing committee is important for me,” Roy said to CNN-IBN news channel. “This is a democratic process and Parliament is a part of democratic structure... The danger is that if we get rid of these institutions and say that discussions will happen outside Parliament, then tomorrow there can be a huge mobilization of any kind of extremist group by anybody who will demand that no debate should happen in the Parliament.”
The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) also submitted its version of the Lokpal Bill to the committee.
Union ministers also slammed Hazare’s campaign.
“The way the civil society movement is continuing in the country, it gives an impression that the leaders have become legislators,” finance ministerPranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata.
V. Narayanasamy, minister of state at the Prime Minister’s Office, said Hazare was seeking publicity. “Hazare is unfortunately trying to create a crisis for the government with the support of various internal forces,” he said in Puducherry.
But public support for Hazare’s campaign showed no sign of ebbing. Hazare’s supporters held a massive rally from New Delhi’s India Gate to the fast venue, Ramlila Ground. Supporters poured in at the venue in large numbers, shouting slogans, singing and dancing.
“There is a lot of power in unity,” said Ramesh Chandra, a retired worker from Haryana, who came to fast venue for the third day in a row. “If we all come together, the government will have to listen to us.”
Chanchal Mahesh Parihar, a homemaker from Noida, said she was more hopeful about the success of the ongoing agitation than the one in April, when Hazare went on fast demanding that civil society representatives be included in the panel drafting the Lokpal Bill.
“This time the crowd and support for Anna is much more,” she said. “We are hopeful something constructive will come out of it.”
PTI contributed to this story.

Anna Steps Out From Tihar Jail

The fourth day of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption protest saw chaos amidst cheer by thousand of Anna supporters gathered to welcome their leader outside. Tihar jail in New Delhi. For the police the situation was critical , as they had to ensure full security to the 74 year activist.

The road outside the main gate of Tihar Jail saw media and Anna supporters wait patiently for the anti-corruption crusader to come out and greet his supporters.

At 10am, Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer and a member of Team Anna, addressed the gathering and informed the media that Anna would be out at sharp 11am to carry on his fast at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. The crowd gathered in support of Anna cheered at the announcement and waited for the now 'Mahatma' to come out of the prison gates.

But at 11am, another announcement was made that Anna would not come out till Hazare's associate and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal reached Tihar.

Finally, at around 12pm, Anna Hazare, wearing a spotless white kurta dhoti and his now much famous topi, walked out of the main gate of Tihar Jail escorted by a large posse of armed policemen with a broad smile brought out by the support gathered outside. "The second freedom struggle has begun. We must not give up. We have to fight till corruption is wiped off from this country," he said.

Supporters climbed on to electricity poles, trees and cars to get a glimpse of Anna Hazare as he addressed the media at the gate.

Media gathered at the gate went wild. Camera men toppled, microphones tied on to branches of trees, which acted as boom-microphones, broke as Anna walked out of the gate. Fighting to get the best video footage and stills of probably India's famous and most followed anti-corruption activist, media persons had a battle amongst themselves.

The weather gods, however, tried to play spoil-sport. But they failed to deter Anna's supporters. Anna was put on to an open truck and went on a massive procession to Ramlila Maidan, passing through Rajghat.

The police along the way had a tough time managing the crowd gathered at the venue and were perhaps a little unprepared to handle the situation. Supporters complained of pick-pocketers and molesters in the crowd.

Anna Hazare is on an indefinite fast for 14 days at Ramlila Maidan. He had been arrested and put in judicial custody at Tihar Jail. Despite the magistrate issuing him release orders, he refused to come out stating that till the government lifts section 144 imposed in JP Park and allowed him to go on a fast without any conditions, he would not leave.

The Delhi Police on 18th August lifted all the conditions and granted Anna permission to fast for 14 days at Ramlila Maidan.


                                                                               Source : Hindustan Times

Quotes By Anna Hazare

"The second freedom struggle has started.This is a fight for change.Unless there is no change,there is no freedom,there is no actual Democracy,there is no true Republic,there is no true people's rule."


"As long as there is life in my body,I will keep protesting"


"My dear countrymen,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."


"My fast will go on.I will fight till my last breath to ensure that the Lokpal (anti-corruption bill)is passed.I will not go back."


"Our Prime Minister said that Lokpal bill will be sent to Parliament and we will have to abide by whatever Parliament decides.We have full confidence on parliament but bring the right bill before parliament."

Democracy...

Elections… a cause of so much clamor in all cities, a source of so many arguments among all who can think, the big day for all politicians and their entourage… and a major nuisance… to me.

I finally became eligible to cast my own vote this time around… something that caused unwarranted (according to me) excitement to my parents. I had first decided not to bother… choosing instead to sleep in on a holiday, a far more enticing prospect than casting one vote that would change the nation….

Eventually though I did go and get my finger marked as a sign that I was a citizen of the country… and pressed a single button that produced the high pitched squeal of democracy in play.

Quite frankly, I consider the entire process to be a waste of time and effort.

It’s not that I do not believe in the idea of democracy. No… I would certainly back it up against alternatives like Aristocracy, Autocracy, Gerontocracy or Communism… it’s just that I feel it cannot be a success in our nation… at least the way it is now.

In a nation, where around seventy percent of the population find it a stretch to arrange the next meal, where around half have still not been touched with the joys of education, where eighty percent live far away from the face of development in the rural obscurity that hasn't yet received the meanest form of technology, where half of the ones in cities dwell in slums in conditions worse than the ones in villages… how can we expect democracy to be successful?

By it’s very definition… Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.

So applying it to our nation means that the rare few that can actually think for themselves, are capable of weighing the pros and cons of any particular party coming to power… have as much a say as the ones that vote for their favorite celebrity on account of their looks.

Now, considering the sheer minority of the politically aware fragment of our nation… whatever they do… hardly has a say at all.

So at the end of the day… what really decides our government is a mixture of how well our leaders have approached and brainwashed the people dwelling in the seclusion and darkness away from the seats of power. A candidates skills as an orator… carries way more value than what his ideals and objectives (usually personal gain… that much is common to most politicians) are. And also the fact if the candidate has the support of the media… an effective weapon to canvass for him and gain valuable votes by the method of direct as well as indirect persuasion.

He who plays best on the gullibility and the deliberately prolonged poverty of our nation’s majority… shall win. This is the statement of our system of government… if we ceased to sugarcoat it.

Sounds… disgusting, doesn’t it? I know… but still, it is entirely accurate if you open your eyes and chose to hear what is being shouted at you all the time.

So it stands to reason that we would be better of with alternatives like Meritocracy or Supra-nationalism… doesn’t it?

If not for the blatantly obvious reason that it ‘makes perfect sense’… than at least to give it a shot when our current plan has clearly fallen flat…?

However, every time a discussion is held on this topic… the latent patriotic zeal of the masses condense to form a wall of absolute conviction projecting the flawless motto… “We will shout to drown out your voice till you shut up!”

Hard to argue against that… on so many levels….

The perfect blend of convictions and pig headedness resulting in the recurring stagnancy of society and the continued darkness in most of our areas….

Such is the unquestionable power and position of our greatest of ideals… Democracy….

Is This True Freedom?? After 64 Years Of Independence, Still This Is The Reality Of Our Nation...