Power Situation during 1985-86 became extremely critical.

The farmers were unable to lift water from the wells inspite of its availability due to insufficient voltage to run pumps. The motors were getting burnt due to fluctuations and the crops were getting affected. There was scant response from the govt. inspite of continuous follow-up. On 28th Nov. 1989 Mr. Hazare was forced to undertake fast for seeking redressal. After 8 days of his fast , his health deteriorated and was admitted in the civil hospital at Ahmednagar. As there was, no response inspite of action from his side, the farmers from three tehsils became furious and they started road block agitation. Fearing that if the agitation takes a wrong turn, something untoward may take place. He appealed to the agitators from the hospital bed that they should not resort to unfair means, damage the national property and inflict any harm to the passengers. The agitation should be peaceful. The police authorities did not expect huge participation and there was meager police force available.

However, they were proved wrong and more than 10000 men and 1200 women participated in the agitation. The agitators had offered police to take them to jail. However, since enough transport was not available with the police, the police tried to remove the road block. Due to improper treatment meted out to the agitators, there was scuffle between police and the agitators and the police resorted to lathi-charged on agitators. This action on the part of police irritated them and they pelted stones on the police force. Since the situation was going out of control, additional force was called and police opened fire on the agitators in which 4 farmers died on the spot and 7 farmers sustained severe injuries. He felt sad on hearing this news in the hospital. The agitation was meant for awakening the government and there is no harm in carrying out such agitations in democracy. He had decided to end his life during the fast itself, but Senior Officials of the government and even Ministers persuaded him to give up his fast as they feared that if agitation continues, lot many farmers may lose their life and in order to save the life of innocent farmers, he withdrew his fast.

Model Village as contemplated by Gandhiji was brought in reality by Shri Annaji at Ralegan Siddhi by his dedication. Late Shri Achyutrao Patwardhan, the great freedom fighter, suggested to the government of Maharashtra that to commemorate the golden jubilee of Bharat Chhodo Andolan, it would be most befitting to create model villages like Ralegan Siddhi in every tehsil of the state. The government accepted this suggestion and declared to implement Adarsh Gaon Yojana. The Government entrusted this responsibility to him and Adarsha Gaon Yojana was started under his leadership . He travelled whole of Maharashtra and selected 300 villages to implement this scheme. While working in this scheme he realised that development is getting hampered due to planned corruption in Govermnent machinery and he decided to fight against this corruption. He gave evidence against two ministers who had amassed wealth disproportionate to their income. However since the Govt was passive about this he started agitation and undertook fast for l0 days. Chief Minister intervened and he deleted these two ministers from ministry and appointed an Inquiry Commission. The Commission held both the ministers guilty but to save them the Govt appointed another commission who discharged them from the allegations. Though the ministers were discharged from the allegations, they had to loose their ministership which is the success of Mr.Hazare's agitation. Mr.Hazare's gave evidence of corruption by Social Welfare Minister to the then Chief Minister. On 3lst July l999 the Chief Minister informed him that inquiry is being instituted about the charges leveled by him. He had given an interview to a local daily regarding this inquiry and based on this interview the concerned minister had filed a case in the court against Mr.Hazare for defamation. He was held guilty by the Court and the court had asked him to give an undertaking that he will not make such allegations in future.He refused to give such undertaking and preferred to go jail for 3 months as ordered by the court. He told the court that He was willing to give his life for truth. His punishment created commotion in public and scores of people started visiting Yerawada Jail. He wanted to compelte his jail term but to give respect to the public feelings he accepted his release.In l992 Gandhji had told the court that if court feels that his actions for the freedom of the country are considered as anti government activities he was willing to undergo any punishment .Similarly he did not give bond to the court and accpeted punishment. He did not prefer any appeal against the court order immediately but due to public pressure he later made an appeal which was upheld by the Higher Court and

rejected the suit of minister.Mr. Hazare asked the Govt. to conduct the inquiry against the minister which is still on.

In the regim of coaliation Government of Congress and National Congress Party, He had forwarded evidence of corruption about 4 ministers and had asked the Government to conduct inquiry. One of the ministers had made allegations about corruption in the institutions in which he was associated. Since there was no action from the Govt. he undertook fast for 9 dys in August 2003 at Azad Maidan. The minister concenred also started agitation at Azaj Maidan in Mumbai. At last the Government relented and Retired Suprement Court Judge Shri P.B. Sawant was appointed to conduct the inquiry. The commission conducted the inquiry and sent its report to Govt. on 22nd Februrary . In the report the commission had observed ministers guilty and had held Mr.Hazare also guilty forirregularities but not a single charge of corruption was proved against him.Mr. Hazare has offered the Government that it should take action against him as well as the ministers based on the findings of the enquiry comissions.Though Govt has not taken any action on the Commission's report three ministers had to go and this is a big achievement of his agitation against corruption. He felt that corruption will not stop merely by taking action against a few officers and ministers and it is necessary that a change should be brought about in the system, He believes that unless decentralisation of power takes place the system will not change.In order to bring change in the system he felt that information should be made available to people regarding Govt.'s actions which was not being provided to people on the ground of secracy. Here again he decided to follow Gandhiji's path and started Maun Vrat and later fast unto death. This brought pressure on the Govt. and both the Central as well as State Governments have enacted Right to Information Act. His whole life and work is based on Gandhian philosophy. Prohibition Alcohol has ruined many families in rural India. The existing laws did not have teeth to ban the sale of alcohol in villages. So he decided to press the government to make a law for prohibition if 50% women demanded for it. Ultimately, women are the most affected lot if their husbands are drunkards. By the new Act, the women of any village can collectively demand for ban on sale of alcoholic drinks in the village. If a minimum of 50% of women complain to the District

Collector about their sufferings and request for total prohibition in the village, the Collector can hold ballot paper election in the village. There will be two signs on the paper one being a bottle in standing position and another being in a horizontal position. The women will cast their votes. In the evening, the votes will be counted. If more votes are in favour of horizontal bottle, then the Collector will ban the sale of alcoholic drinks in the village and cancel the license of the seller. In many villages, the licenses have been cancelled and total prohibition came into reality after this Act. In some villages, the alcohol sellers have manipulated the election with money power. Anyhow, this Act has supported and strengthened the women. Women have become empowered due to this act and became fearless to come in open against the alcoholism. This Act has helped in organizing the women and fight against evils for a common good. Womens empowerment is the need of the day.

Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare, 73, is popularly known as Anna Hazare. The iconic Gandhian is known for his contribution to the development of Ragelan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district. He was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 1992 for turning it into a model village. On April 5, 2011, the 72-year-old began a fast-unto-death to exert pressure on the government to enact a strong anti-corruption law that will see the appointment of independent ombudsmen at the centre and in the states to deal with cases of corruption. He broke the fast after 97 hours after the government constituted a joint panel of ministers and civil society representatives to draft the law.

India celebrated its first Republic Day on 26th January 1950. That day, India became a sovereign republic nation. The government exchequer collected by different ways ultimately belongs to the citizens of the country. Citizens elect their representatives and send them to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha for managing the public money. The peoples representatives are actually public servants. As they are public servants, their position is secondary to that of citizens. But, unfortunately, this fact has not been realized by the people in the last 60 years of Independence. Some people with vested interest deliberately kept the citizens in darkness. Citizens are at the helm of affairs in democracy, nobody is beyond them. The President of India appoints Civil Servants in Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS) and Indian Forest Services (IFS). The Peoples Representatives and the Civil Servants are ultimately the public servants. They have to serve the citizens. But, the picture is

altogether different today. The Peoples Representatives and the Civil Servants have become masters of the country and made the citizens poor servants. In the Maharashtra State, a campaign was started demanding for the Right to Information. As Peoples Representatives and Civil Servants are public servants and the citizens of Maharashtra are owners of the public money, the citizens have the right to ask the public servants how and in what manner they spend the public money. He pressed for legislating an Act for Right to Information. The first campaign was organized at the Azad Maidan, Mumbai, in 1997. The State Government was giving only promises, but it failed to crystallize it in many sessions of the Vidhan Sabha. He had to make agitations, dharnas, morchas, maun and fasts many times. State-wide tours were held for awareness generation among people. Public addresses were organized in many towns and programmes were arranged specially for college students. Posters, banners and folders were printed and distributed in thousands. All this resulted in the awakening of the citizens and making them aware of their fundamental Right to Information. The Government made many promises, but it failed to keep one. Any government never wants to decentralize its power and hand over power to people. Many politicians think that decentralization of power will lessen their importance, status and respect. So the Government was reluctant to make legislation for Right to Information. Finally, with zeal of do-or-die, Mr. Hazare went on fast-unto-death on August 9, 2003 at Azad Maidan, Mumbai. He decided that unless the Act is passed by the Government, he will not end his fast; rather he will sacrifice his life for peoples rights. The Government of Maharashtra felt that his resolution is firm and He would not step back from his decision of do-or-die. On the 12th day of his fast, the Government of Maharashtra got the Bill signed by the President of India and enacted the law of Right to Information in Maharashtra. The Act on Right to Information is a revolutionary step towards strengthening democracy. This Act has enabled the common man to seek information. Till to-date, the people have to obey the laws; whereas the government machinery controlled everything. But by the advent of this Act, the Government Agencies have to obey the law and the people have got controlling power.

This Act should have come into force on 26th February 1950 itself; the day India celebrated its first Republic Day. This would have brought transparency and accountability in every transaction of the government and would have checked corruption to a great extent. The erstwhile British rulers had prohibited people from getting any information by creating the Official Secrets Act. The following Indian governments maintained status quo by not amending the Act as it provided them space for corruption. The British Act of Official Secrets was in force for almost 58 years after British left India. This Act gave the weapon in the hands of corrupt politicians and officers to exploit the common man. Under the guise of the Official secrets Act, information was denied to people. So he started the movement for Right to Information. In freedom, every citizen has fundamental right to know how the public money is spent.The question to the Government was "Why do you deny information which is not confidential" under the guise of Official Secrets Act? Finally, the government had to make the Right to Information Act. Due to this Act, transparency has come in in the administration. Now a common man can get information by just paying a nominal charge of Rs. 10 or 20. This has paved the way to good governance and healthy democracy. If this Act reaches every village and every household, it has potential to check corruption to an extent of 80 85%. Due to corruption, only 10 percent could reach the real beneficiaries of the poverty alleviation programmes earlier. Rest of the money percolated to the purses of corrupt officers and politicians. Now, due to the Act of Right to Information, the poor villagers will get their due share in the development process. The quality of project works has started to improve after the Act.

Central Government stopped amendments in Right to Information Act:

It is a positive step after 58 years of Independence to enact the Right to Information Act. But as this Act has potential to check corruption to a great extent, some politicians felt it as a hurdle in their corrupt practices. Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singhs Government tabled a Bill for amendments in the existing Act which were detrimental to the very cause of the Act. Citizens had got these rights after 58 years of Independence after a long struggle. The proposed amendments were going to nullify these rights. To protest against the amendments, Mr. Hazareundertook fast unto death at Alandi near Pune.

Within two days of commencing his fast, people in various parts of Maharashtra started agitation on their own in support of my demand. People undertook Rail-roko-andolan (train blockade) at nine places.

Gradually, the agitation spread to other parts of India. Even some Indians residing in the US went on fast in support of my agitation. Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh sent one of his Ministers as emissary to Alandi, as the agitation gathered momentum in and outside the country, and promised that the existing Right to Information Act would not be amended by the Central Government. He requested Mr. Hazare to end his fast and he gave it up on 9th day. Fortunately, the Government gave up the idea of proposed amendments in the Right to Information Act.

Act for Regulating Transfers:

As there was no clear-cut policy on transfers of the Government Officers, the Peoples Representatives and Senior Officers of the government misused their power to transfer the government servants as per their wish. In these transfers, usually money changes hands. Thus, a transfer was a source of bribery. If an elected Representative wants his relative or confident to be posted in a key position where an honest Officer is already working, he would misuse his power to get the honest man transferred to other place; thus creating vacancy to bring his man to that position. This was injustice to the honest officer. To prevent this type of injustice, He started a movement for legislation of an Act which would prevent transfer of any officer, at the will of his superiors or political heavy weights, for a minimum period of three years. It was also ensured that no officer will continue at the same place for more than three years. The local politicians like Members of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, Ministers in the Government and Senior Officers of the Government opposed legislation of this Act as it was going to affect their vested interest.

Due to this act, the honest officers got some relief and the corruption involved in transfers has reduced to a large extent.

More Rights for Gram Sabha:

Gram Sabha is a Village Parliament; just like Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha being parliaments at Central and State levels respectively, in the Indian parliamentary system of democracy. Gram Sabha is supreme in the democratic set-up. Any villager who attains the age of 18 years automatically becomes a member of the Gram Sabha according to provisions in the Indian Constitution. Villagers, who are eligible for casting their votes by virtue of their age, are the members of the Gram Sabha. There is no election for constituting the Gram Sabha as in the case of Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha. It is an autonomous and sovereign body. The members of the Gram Sabha

elect the members of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha through elections who subsequently form the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. Thus, the Gram Sabha is the mother of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. The Ministry of the Government, may it be at Central or State level, has to take the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha into confidence for undertaking any developmental programme. In the same way, the Gram Panchayat, i.e. the elected body at village level, should take the Gram Sabha into confidence before undertaking developmental programmes. A peoples movement was carried out for 7 years for legislation for granting more rights to Gram Sabha. Finally, the State Govt. of Maharashtra passed an Act granting more rights to Gram Sabha. Now, it is made mandatory for the Gram Panchayat to take permission of the Gram Sabha before spending the money it receives from the government for different developmental programmes. If it is found that the Gram Panchayat did not take permission of the Gram Sabha and spent the money without information to the Gram Sabha, then the villagers (minimum 20% of voters) could approach the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zilla Parishad for an enquiry into the expenditure. The CEO has to make an enquiry within a month and, if he is convinced that the money has been spent without the knowledge of the Gram Sabha, send his report to the Divisional Commissioner recommending for legal action. There is provision in the Act that the Divisional Commissioner can dismiss the Sarpanch (Head of the Gram Panchayat), the Deputy Sarpanch and the Gram Sevak (Village Development Officer). The Act has helped in bringing transparency in village development schemes and thus curbing corruption to a great extent. Every citizen has a right to elect his representative in the democracy. In the same way, he should also have a right to recall the elected representative. This Act has given this right to recall to the villagers. This will foster a healthy and people-oriented democracy. There is a need for awareness generation and educating people to use this Act for bringing more transparency in the development programmes.

Background
See also: Corruption in India, List of alleged scams in India, and Indian political scandals

Mahatma Gandhi fought for our freedom but we are yet to achieve real independence. The second struggle of independence has started. We are ready to sacrifice our

lives but will not buckle under pressure

Anna Hazare[8]

Issues regarding corruption in India have become more prominent in recent years. The country was subject to socialist-inspired economic policies between the 1950s and the late 1980s. Extensive regulation, protectionism, and public ownership led to slow growth. [9][10] Forbes commented in 2007 that the system of bureaucratic controls called License Raj was often at the core of corruption.[11] The Vohra Report of 1993, submitted by the former Indian Union Home Secretary N. N. Vohra, studied the problem of the criminalization of politics and of the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India. The report contained several observations made by official agencies on the criminal network which was virtually running a parallel government. It also discussed criminal gangs who enjoyed the patronage of politicians of all political parties and the protection of government functionaries. It revealed that political leaders had become the leaders of gangs. They were also connected to the military. Over the years criminals had been elected to local bodies, State Assemblies, and even the Parliament.[12][13][14]

Anna Hazare's hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, on the second day of his fast. The Right to Information Act of 2005 has helped civilians work effectively towards tackling corruption. It allows Indian citizens (except those living in Jammu and Kashmir) to request information, for a fixed fee of 10 (US$ 0.22), from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.[clarification needed] Activists have used this to uncover graft cases against various politicians and bureaucrats, one consequence being that some of those activists have been attacked and even killed.[15]

Various scandals were discovered in the period 2010-2011, including the 2G spectrum scam, Adarsh Housing Society Scam, and the Commonwealth Games scam. These involved various Ministers and also members of the Armed Forces, and they demonstrated how entrenched corruption had become in India.[16][17][18] They led also to popular, non-political movements campaigning to fight graft via new legislation. The Jan Lokpal Bill is a proposal to establish an independent body to investigate cases of corruption within a year and to ensure a speedy prosecution within two years of an investigation being started.[19]

[edit] Protest timeline

13 March 2011

A poster against corruption in India A group of Delhi residents drove around the city dressed in similar clothing in an attempt to raise awareness of corruption issues and to gain support for the Jan Lokpal Bill.[20] 28 March 2011 There were protest marches in various cities[where?] across the world, including some in the US.[21] 30 March 2011 Kapil Dev, a former captain of the Indian national cricket team, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, complaining that the many investigations into scams arising from the recent Commonwealth Games had achieved nothing so far. He said that, "Why can't we have an independent Lokpal to look into these scams. I consider you as the cleanest politician in the recent history and I urge you for a Jan Lokpal Bill."[22] 4 April 2011 Hazare announced that he would commence his "fast unto death" and that this would last until a comprehensive measure to tackle corruption was introduced. He claimed that the government had excluded "civil society" from the panel set up to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill and implied that at least one of the people who was to be on the drafting committee - Sharad Pawar - might be unsuitable for that role

because of his large landholdings. Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh supported Hazare.[22] 5 April 2011

Protesters have come out in support of Anna Hazare Hazare, initiated his fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. There were reports that around 6000 protestors in Mumbai might express their support for his action by themselves fasting, although in their case just for one day.[23] Campaigners for India Against Corruption (IAC) estimated that a petition circulated in the city of Pune which demanded that the government enact a bill had attracted between 5000 and 6000 signatures between 3 April and 5 April. Hazare has been involved with IAC, a group established by various prominent activists with the primary purpose of achieving the legal enactment and subsequent enforcement of a strong version of the Jan Lokpal bill.[24] Many Bangaloreans visited the city's Freedom Park to support Hazare.[25]

7 April 2011

Protests have continued as the Government fails to offer better terms to the activists Two rounds of talks failed. There was agreement regarding constituting a panel to examine the Bill but the government would not accede to demands that it should be a formally constituted panel or that Hazare should lead it. As a consequence of this, Hazare continued his fast.

[26]

Narendra Modi, the chief Minister of Gujarat lashes out at Manmohan Singh for resisting the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill[27]

Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress party and the head of the National Advisory Council appealed to Hazare to end his indefinite fast.[28] Hazare and the protesters tried to keep the protests non-political. No politicians were welcome at the site of the fast. Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti and pro Sonia Gandhi journalist Barkha Dutt were forced by civilians to leave, after the protesters objected against their presence which they believed was harming the integrity of their movement.[29]

8 April 2011

Protesters in Delhi

Protesters in Pune Protests spread to Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Patna, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Pune, Nashik and Kochi.[30]

[31]

Protests were organised at the University of Jammu in Jammu, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Jaipur too.[30] The government continued to squabble with the activists stating that the bill drafting committee will be headed by a government appointed minister and not a civil society member as the protesters demanded to avoid allowing the government to make the bill less powerful.[32] The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, met with the President of India to outline to her how the government was going ahead with the demands of the population.[32] 15 supporters of Hazare on fast were hospitalized.[33] Bollywood came out in support of the protests, with actors, musicians and directors speaking in support of the movement and Hazare.

Director Farah Khan, actor Anupam Kher, music director Vishal Dadlani, poet-filmmaker Pritish Nandy and actor Tom Alter all visited Jantar Mantar; others stated their support for the movement via social networking websites or the media. Oscar winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman also declared his support for the anti-graft movement. Qatari artist M. F. Hussain showed his support by drawing a cartoon of Hazare.[34] Indian students at Cambridge University, the former alma mater of the Indian prime minister also expressed their support for the movement.
[35]

Many prominent people from the government agencies as well as from various corporate houses came out in support of the movement. Some of them were - Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan[36] (also called the Metro Man of India), Punj Lloyd chairman Atul Punj, Maruti Suzuki chairman R. C. Bhargava, Hero group's Sunil Munjal, Tata Steel vicechairman B Muthuraman, Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj, Godrej Group head Adi Godrej, Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Kotak Mahindra Bank vice-chairman & managing director Uday Kotak. They all declared their support for Hazare and the movement.[37][38] ASSOCHAM President Dilip Modi and FICCI Director General Rajiv Kumar, too came out in support of the movement.[37] The Government of India accepted the compromise formula that there be a politician chairman and an activist, non-politician Co-Chairman. It was reported that Pranab Mukherjee will be the Chairman of the draft committee while Shanti Bhushan will be the co-chairman.[39] Shanti Bhushan was one of the original drafters of the Lokpal Bill along with Hazare, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.[40]

9 April 2011 After accepting all the demands of Hazare, the Government of India issued a Official Gazette saying that the draft of lokpal would be made and presented in the coming monsoon session of Lok Sabha. Victory celebrations took place at locations throughout the country.[41] and even Hazare's village.[42][43][44] Bollywood lauded the outcome, repeating their support for the movement.[45] Anti-corruption protestors at India Gate booed and drove away controversial journalist Barkha Dutt.[46] Protesters and leaders of the movement alike stated that the path to attaining complete passing of the bill is still a difficult one, and the movement has to see more harsher days ahead.[47] Many commentators have called the movement the 'wake-up' call for India.[48][49]

I want to tell the government that we are not two but one. You should wipe it out of your mind that you are the masters. You are not the masters, the people are. Gram Sabha is more powerful than Lok Sabha or State Assemblies

Anna Hazare[8]

Within a day of the beginning of the agitation, more than 30,000 people had pledged their support to the Lokpal Bill. Organisers of the India Against Corruption said 30,000 people from Maharashtra expressed their support on their website.[50] The website has 20,000 members in Mumbai alone.[51] Within a few days the Facebook page for India Against Corruption had more than 220,000 likes.[52]

16 April 2011 The first meeting regarding a draft of the Lokpal Bill was held on 16 April. The government agreed to audio-record all meetings of the Lokpal Bill panel and to hold public consultations before a final draft is prepared.[53] Hazare demanded that the proceedings be televised live but the government refused this.[54] 4 June 2011 Swami Ramdev begins his indefinite hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to bring back the black money stashed in tax havens abroad.[55] 65,000 followers gathered at Ramlila Maidan[56] In a press conference in the evening Kapil Sibbal made public a letter from Ramdev's camp to call off the hunger strike. Ramdev took it as a betrayal and hardened position.

5 June 2011 At midnight, police raid the ground when most protesters are sleeping and Ramdev is busy at a meeting with his core group.[57]

A large police force lob tear gas shells, burn the place and lathicharge the crowd at 1 am (IST) to evict them. Police had arranged buses to drop supporters at railway stations and bus stands in advance; had ammunition ready and were in battle-gear wearing vests and helmets and kept some ambulances on standby. Delhi Police arrest Ramdev, who was disguised in a salwar kameez with a group of female protesters heading peacefully towards the New Delhi Railway Station Ramdev is held in a government guesthouse for a few hours and then sent to Dehradun in a chartered BSF aircraft. Ramdev is sent to his Patanjali Yogpeeth ashram in Haridwar where he delivers a press conference.[58] 53 people are injured and are treated at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, AIIMS Trauma Center and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.[59][60][1] Protesters huddle near the Metro station, bus depots and railway stations. Many walk down to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and other nearby ashrams.[61] According to New Delhi railway station authorities, supporters continued to leave in batches through the course of the day. While several supporters spent the day at a park near Ramlila Maidan, others took shelter at an Arya Samaj facility in Paharganj.[62] Baba Ramdev is prohibited from entering Delhi for 15 days.

We are really curious why the government is against the idea of telecasting live the proceedings of the committee. The people ought to know the reasons why there is a difference between your and our viewpoint,

Shanti Bhushan[63]

9 June 2011 Hazare describes his fight against corruption as the "Second Freedom Struggle" and set an ultimatum of 15 August 2011, as the last

date to pass a strong Jan Lokpal Bill threatening to otherwise intensify his anti-corruption agitation and start another fast from 16 August.[64] 16 June 2011 The Government and the civil societysplit wide open due to differences in jointly drafting bill. Government representatives informed that if a consensus on the common bill is not reached, two drafts will be sent to the Cabinet, one drafted by the Government and the other drafted by the civil society. Team Anna also claimed that only 15 points out of total 71 recommended were agreed and included in the joint draft. Hazare declared that if the government version of the bill was passed in the Parliament, he will start his hunger strike from August 16, 2011.[65]

[edit] Use of cyberspace

Hacker group Anonymous has come out in support of a civil movement against corruption in India by hacking one of the key website of a Indian government of National Informatics Centre. This cyber movement has been called "Operation India".[66][67]

[edit] Government response

Hazare's protest has led to the resignation of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar from the Group of Ministers on corruption.[68] On 8 April, the government started seriously considering the demands of the protesters. The government has stated that it will table the bill in the parliament in the upcoming Monsoon session.[69] On 9 April, the government finally agreed to have a 50:50 distribution of the Government appointed officials and the members of the civil society.[70] On May 13, PM Manmohan Singh stated that the Indian government has completed the process for ratification of UN Convention against Corruption.[71]

[edit] Political response to the Jantar Mantar protests

Bhartiya Janata Party The Bhartiya Janata Party supported Hazare, with a prominent member, Arun Jaitley, urging the government to take Hazare's fast very seriously.[72] Another prominent BJP figure, L.K. Advani suggested that a meeting of political parties should be convened to discuss the issue "particularly in the context of black money and curbing money-power in elections".[73] BJP leader Narendra Modi posted on his Facebook account that he was praying for Hazare's health. He also published an open letter to Hazare thanking him for the latter's support for the development work in Gujarat (being spearheaded by Modi himself as the

chief minister of the state). Modi also warned Hazare of possible vilification by a certain 'powerful-group' that wishes to defame Modi and Gujarat. He reiterated his support for the Jan Lokpal Bill.[74] Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) came out in support of Anna Hazare. Prakash Karat pledged support to Hazare over the Jan Lokpal Bill.[75]