Hazare says to fight till the end for Jan Lokpal Bill

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Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare today said that he was ready to sacrifice his life to get a strong Jan Lokpal Bill for the benefit of the poor people of the country.

 

Hazare, 74, trained his guns on Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, holding him responsible for the "weak and ineffective" Lokpal bill proposed by the Standing Committee of Parliament.

 

Before leaving for Delhi from his native town Ralegan Siddhi, near Pune in Maharashtra, Hazare said this morning that after 1947, this is another fight for democratic rights and "if I had to sacrifice my own life I will do so. Thousand of people fought for democracy in the past but now the time has come to assert yourself to get the right Jan Lokpal Bill," he said.

 

Hazare, who has not been keeping well for the past three days, told the people of his village, after coming out from the Yadavbaba temple, that he is going to hold a day-long fast tomorrow at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to make it clear to the Government that it had to concede the demand of the poor in the long run.

 

The Gandhian accused the UPA government of bypassing the legitimate rights of the people as their corrupt politicians were involved in financial scams and only try to earn money from illegal sources. 

 

The social activist said, "I also will tour the five states going to the polls next year and ask them not to vote for the Congress, as the party is not serious about fighting corruption."

 

"We have the support of lakhs of people of the country who will be involved in peaceful agitation and teach a lesson to the UPA government soon,"  Hazare said.

 

He said the Standing Committee's decisions were manipulated by Rahul Gandhi and the weak Lokpal Bill is being introduced at his behest.

Severely criticising the decision of the Standing Committee to keep group C and D government employees out of the purview of the Lokpal, Hazare claimed, "This is an act of treachery with the nation." 

 

After a day-long dharna tomorrow at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi,  Hazare is also planning to embark on an 8-day fast from December 27 in the national capital.

 

Hazare is expected to stay in the capital till December 18 and return to Ralegan Siddhi on December 19, sources close to him said.

 

NNN

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