Indian anti-graft activist reaches agreement to start 15-day fast

[News_Editor]

Indian anti-graft activist reaches agreement to start 15-day fast

2011-08-19 05:03:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- Indian anti-graft activist Anna Hazare has agreed to a police offer which will allow him to start a 15-day hunger strike in a New Delhi park, local daily The Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.

Hazare, who was detained on Tuesday for defying a ban on a planned anti-graft fast, bargained for two days with Indian government to settle the protest venue and other conditions.

On Thursday morning, Hazare and the government finally reached an agreement under which he is allowed to carry out a hunger strike for 15 days in the spacious Ramlila Maidan Park in New Delhi.

A Hazare associate, Kiran Bedi, said the Gandhian activist would not leave Tihar Jail until Friday when he will begin his protest in the park. According to the newspaper, as soon as Hazare announced that the protest would be held in Ramlila, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) deployed around 100 laborers to prepare the ground.

Hazare was lodged in the Tihar Jail on Tuesday evening after he was detained by police for going ahead with his plans to defy prohibitory orders on a planned anti-graft fast in JP Park. Thousands of protesters were also arrested across India on Tuesday following Hazare's detention.

The activist was later released but he refused to leave prison and demanded that there should not be any restrictions on his protest.

Hazare's protest happens amid a series of corruption scandals involving government officials, which have sparked widespread public anger and calls for reform. The Indian government has failed to pass an effective anti-corruption law.

The current government proposed the Lokpal bill, which exempts the prime minister, the judiciary and lawmakers from the purview of an ombudsman.

In 2010, Transparency International ranked India, one of the few countries yet to ratify the United Nations convention against corruption, at 87.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-19