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India activist Anna Hazare begins new protest Indian activist Anna Hazare condemns police crackdown
(about 9 hours later)
Indian activist Anna Hazare has begun a protest against the police crackdown on an anti-corruption fast by yoga guru Baba Ramdev. Veteran Indian activist Anna Hazare has condemned a police crackdown on an anti-corruption fast at the weekend.
Mr Hazare says he will go without food during the one-day protest in Delhi. Hundreds of people gathered in Delhi to hear Mr Hazare denounce police for using force to break up the protest by yoga guru Baba Ramdev's supporters.
Over the weekend police broke up another fast against corruption by yoga guru Baba Ramdev and thousands of his supporters, leading to a public outcry. "When injustice and oppression prevail, it is not a crime to protest," said Mr Hazare during the one-day protest.
A hunger strike by Mr Hazare in April heaped pressure on the government, which is beset by corruption scandals.A hunger strike by Mr Hazare in April heaped pressure on the government, which is beset by corruption scandals.
Security is tight at the Rajghat mausoleum in the Indian capital, Delhi, where Mr Hazare is holding the protest. Baba Ramdev, whose television programme is watched by millions, is continuing his fast in his home city of Haridwar.
Anna Hazare, 72, is part of a panel of campaigners now negotiating with the government for tough anti-corruption laws and he has huge public support. Correspondents say that the strategy of both men has made for lively political theatre, with near-non-stop TV coverage.
Baba Ramdev, whose daily TV programme is watched by millions, has vowed to continue his fast against corruption in his home city of Haridwar. 'Sacrifices'
He wants billions of dollars of suspected bribe money allegedly held overseas to be returned to India. The yoga guru has called the police operation a "blot on democracy". Mr Hazare, who went without food on Wednesday in solidarity with Baba Ramdev, denounced the police move against the guru and his supporters as a "blot on humanity" and an attempt to "stifle democracy".
Around 30 people were injured when police used batons and tear gas to disperse thousands of Baba Ramdev's supporters in central Delhi on Sunday. Thousands of people defied tight security to gather at the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi, considered the father of the Indian nation, to hear Mr Hazare speak.
One woman is in a critical condition. The activist held a fast against corruption in April, forcing the government to allow him and his supporters to help draft new anti-corruption legislation. The two sides are deadlocked over how powerful a new anti-graft ombudsman should be.
The government has been heavily criticised for the way the police dealt with the protest. "We will have to make sacrifices. We will be humiliated also. But we will have to bear all this and take it in our stride," Mr Hazare, wearing his trademark white cotton clothes, told Wednesday's rally.
"India is a democratic country. Peacefully protesting and assembling without arms is legal," Arvind Kejriwal, a colleague of Mr Hazare, told a news conference. He is threatening a new fast if the ombudsman bill is not passed by August.
"If the government obstructs us then we will resist and give ourselves up for arrest. The government's attitude is clearly that we have a right to indulge in corruption and if anyone protests then we will either crush them or... not allow them to assemble." Baba Ramdev has vowed to continue his fast against corruption indefinitely, despite reports that doctors have warned him to begin eating again soon for health reasons.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the police operation against Baba Ramdev and his supporters had been "unfortunate" but there had been "no alternative". He wants billions of dollars of suspected bribe money allegedly held overseas to be returned to India.
The gathering was moved to Rajghat, where independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was cremated after Mr Hazare was denied permission to return to Jantar Mantar, the site of his April fast. Around 30 people were injured when police used batons and tear gas to disperse thousands of his supporters in central Delhi on Sunday. One woman is in a critical condition.
'Not serious' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the police operation had been "unfortunate" but there had been "no alternative".
That successful protest drew major concessions from the government, which agreed to let them help draft a bill to create an anti-corruption ombudsman. The Congress-led government is struggling with a series of corruption scandals - the biggest of which surrounds the sale of mobile phone operating licences.
But reports say campaigners and the government are at odds over how powerful the new post-holder should be. Auditors say spectrum was sold off on the cheap at an estimated cost to the exchequer of $40bn. A former government minister and several others have been arrested and are being prosecuted - all deny the corruption charges against them.
"The government says the prime minister, the judiciary, the MPs' conduct inside the parliament should not be included [for investigation in the new law], nor should government servants below a certain level. Then what is the point [of the law]?, lawyer and panel member Prashant Bhushan told Tehelka magazine.
The government says the campaigners are "not serious" about the bill.
The protests come as the Congress-led government is struggling with a massive corruption scandal surrounding the sale of mobile phone operating licences.
Auditors say spectrum was sold off on the cheap at an estimated cost to the exchequer of $40bn.
A former government minister and several others have been arrested and are being prosecuted - all deny the corruption charges against them.