Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, is offered a glass of juice by a young girl as he ends his fast, a day earlier than planned in Mumbai, India, December 28. (AP Photo)
Mumbai, December 28 (IANS): A day after the Lok Sabha passed a Lokpal bill he had trashed, an ailing Anna Hazare Wednesday called off his three-day fast a day earlier by sipping lemon juice. But he vowed to take on the Congress in all five states facing elections early next year. After initially refusing to bow to appeals from doctors and associates, the 74-year-old announced his decision over 24 hours after he had launched his protest Tuesday at the MMRDA ground demanding a “strong Lokpal”.
Looking weak but sounding bitter, he also axed the proposed “Jail Bharo” campaign that was to start across the country Friday. Aide Arvind Kejriwal said Team Anna was not retreating and would review its strategy soon.
Hazare, who is running temperature, sipped lemon juice from a glass at about 6.40 p.m. to wild clapping and then passed the glass to Kejriwal and fellow activist Manish Sisodia who too were on fast. A doctor told IANS that Hazare would spent the night at a rest house and probably leave for his village Ralegan-Siddhi Thursday morning.
“I have called off my fast but my fight against corruption will continue,” Hazare told the gathering here, speaking haltingly. He did not raise any slogans though -- a departure from his routine.
Hazare’s announcement came after his Mumbai hunger strike failed to draw the huge crowds his 12-day August fast in Delhi had attracted, forcing the government then to virtually accept his key demands. But the government backtracked, refusing to unveil Citizens’ Charter and bring the entire bureaucracy under the Lokpal’s ambit.
Looking grave on the stage Wednesday afternoon, Hazare accused the Congress-led government of “betraying” the country by passing what he said was “an ineffective Lokpal”.
He said he will tour Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to campaign against those who did not vote for his “Jan Lokpal bill”.
He was to have fasted from Tuesday to Thursday. But after he developed viral fever, doctors urged him to end it without much delay, warning that his rising blood pressure could cause kidney failure.
Later, as reporters began asking questions, Hazare walked out of the stage. But Kejriwal took over, replying to a volley of questions including those that sought to question the Anna movement’s relevance. He clarified that Team Anna was not against the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) per se but the Congress was the guilty party as it was the driver behind Tuesday’s Lokpal bill. That bill, he said, was meant to protect the corrupt and not to kill corruption.
In Delhi, his colleague Prashant Bushan said the debate over the lack of constitutional status to the Lokpal did not matter since the bill that the Lok Sabha passed was “a toothless and useless institution”.
Hazare supporters were happy and disappointed too.
“All of Anna’s efforts seem to be going down the drain. He has been fighting for a strong Lokpal for years. But I am glad he decided to call off his fast. He badly needs rest,” said Usha Sharma, who too has been fasting alongside Hazare since April. Wednesday’s premature end to the hunger strike capped an emotive campaign that began in April when Hazare fasted for five days in Delhi, forcing the government to talk to his team over a proposed Lokpal.
Lokpal vote in Rajya Sabha today
New Delhi, December 28 (Agencies): After clearing the Lok Sabha hurdle the amended Lokpal Bill has been placed in the Rajya Sabha, which will debate and vote on it on Thursday. The Lokpal Bill faces a tough test in the Upper House of Parliament where the Opposition enjoys a clear majority and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has been trying to muster up the supports of the MPs.
UPA floor managers will have to use all their political acumen to prevent an embarrassment like the one witnessed during the voting on the Bill granting Constitutional status to the Lokpal that was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as several MPs belonging to the Congress and its allies were absent. The Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and key UPA constituents - Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) have voiced their strong protests against the clause relating to the setting up of Lokayuktas by the states in the Lokpal Bill.
Several regional outfits including Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, the Biju Janata Dal and All India Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have also expressed their reservations over the clause which according to them is an encroachment over the states' rights and an attack on the federal structure of the country.
On Wednesday Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayansamy met Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Mukul Roy to try and find common ground on the Lokpal Bill and the Lokayukta clause.
Mukherjee also met Leader of Opposition and BJP MP Arun Jaitley to discuss the Lokpal Bill. The meeting assumes significance as Jaitley has said that the federal structure of the country is non-negotiable. Even as the numbers are stacked against the UPA in the Rajya Sabha and the Opposition has been sharpening its knives, Bansal sounded confident that the Bill will be passed.
Several amendments have been proposed in the Bill and many speakers listed to take part in debate for which eight hours have been allotted. If any amendment rejected by the Lok Sabha is passed in the Rajya Sabha then a joint sitting of both the Houses will have to be called to get the Bill passed.
