BeyondHeadlines News Desk
New Delhi: Veteran activist Anna Hazare has gone on fast unto death for a strong anti-graft, the Lok Pal bill. On Tuesday he reached Rajghat to press for greater involvement of civil society in the formation of the Lok Pal Bill.
The crusader against corruption and winner of the Magsasay Award reached the Gandhi Memorial along with his supporters. He will also march to the Jantar Mantar from the India Gate.
Hazare said in a press conference in the capital: “I will fast unto death as announced earlier, as the prime minister has refused to form a joint committee with civil society members in it for the formulation of the Lokpal Bill. Even if I lose my life, I will have no regret; my life is dedicated to the nation.”
Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer and Right to Information activist (RTI) Arind Kejriwal , along with several others, are also accompanying him.
Thye are pressing for Jan Lok Pal Bill for setting up of ombudsmen – lokayuktas for states and Lokpal at centre. Their main demand is that the ombudsmen should be free from government’s call to weed out corruption.
They are also demanding a minimum jail term of five years to life imprisonment for those found guilty in time bound investigations (one year). The government, however, has recommended six months to seven years imprisonment.
The campaign is gaining momentum as hundreds of supporters have already started rallying around him.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday, had said that he has great respect for Hazare and his work, but expressed his “deep disappointment” on his decision to go on planned hunger strike.
Meanwhile Gujarat Chief Minister Nardendra Modi has expressed solidarity. “I have full personal support to Maharashtra’s eminent social activist Anna Hazare and other activists for a comprehensive Lokpal bill for uprooting corruption,” he told reporters today.
