Jan Lokpal Bill: Police relax conditions for Anna Hazare's fast

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Wednesday relaxed conditions for Anna Hazare's fast, including giving him permission for seven days that could be extended.

Delhi Police agreed to relax six of the 22 conditions for the social activist to hold his indefinite fast against the government version of the Lokpal bill.

"We have relaxed six conditions on which Team Anna had objected. We have given permission for seven days which can be extended," said Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat.

He said the venue of the fast has been shifted from J.P. Park to Ramlila Ground in central Delhi.

There would also be no limit on the number of people gathering at the venue in support of Hazare or the number of vehicles parked at the site, the police said.

Hazare, who is in the Tihar Jail, has refused to leave the jail unless he is allowed to continue with his indefinite fast, and the curbs are lifted.

Nationwide protests continued for the second consecutive day today against the arrest of Anna Hazare, with political parties holding rallies in various states to press their demands that included a strong Lokpal Bill.

Protests were held in Mumbai as supporters of the Gandhian thronged the Azad Maidan in the southern part of the city, protesting the "undemocratic" manner in which the 73-year-old was taken into custody.

TDP supporters demonstrated across Andhra Pradesh against his arrest with the party chief former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu leading a dharna at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Secunderabad.

Thousands of students in Karnataka skipped classes as they thronged Freedom Park in Bangalore at a rally, with former Supreme Court judge Santosh N Hegde, also joining the dharna.

In Indore, BJP workers staged a sit-in waving placards against the police action against Hazare.

Lawyers observed a one-day token strike in all the six district courts in Delhi protesting non-inclusion of judiciary in the Lokpal Bill among other issues, interrupting the proceedings in the 2G case.

The Orissa Assembly was adjourned twice amid uproar as BJP and ruling BJD MLAs condemned the police action.

In Tamil Nadu, a large number of people observed fast and more than 300 activists assembled at Adyar in Chennai under the banner of "India Against Corruption", an umbrella body of the citizen's movement fighting for a powerful Lokpal Bill.


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Countrywide protests continue as Anna Hazare fasts in Tihar

NEW DELHI: Protests swelled across the nation on Wednesday in support of Gandhian Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death in Tihar Jail.

The 74-year-old Anna fasted on Wednesday as thousands of his followers gathered outside the jail, the latest development in a crisis that saw him arrested on Tuesday and then refuse to leave jail after the government ordered his release.

Thousands of Anna supporters on Wednesday also took out a march from India Gate to Jantar Mantar to express solidarity with the Gandhian in his fight against corruption.

Protesters, some of them dressed in T-shirts and Gandhi caps with slogans "I am Anna", gathered at the war memorial at around 4 pm and began marching towards Jantar Mantar, where Hazare had sat on a fast in April which forced the government to expedite the introduction of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

The march choked the roads in and around India Gate and brought traffic in Lutyen's Delhi to a halt putting commuters to inconvenience.

Anna Hazare, who has struck a nerve with millions of Indians by demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption, insists he wants the right to return to JP Park where he had originally planned to publicly fast, before he leaves jail.

The arrest and sudden about-turn to release him appeared to confirm a widespread feeling that Manmohan Singh's government is cornered, clumsy and too riddled with corruption scandals to govern Asia's third-largest economy effectively.

"We don't have faith in our government," said Sujeet, a young software engineer from the IT city of Gurgaon, as he protested at the popular tourist site of India Gate in the capital. "We are living in a democracy but only in letter, not in spirit."

In Assam, thousands of farmers, students and lawyers marched. In the financial capital of Mumbai, 500 people carrying the Indian flag and wearing Gandhi caps chanted "I am Anna".

"I was forced to pay a bribe while getting my passport approved and I felt helpless," said student Rahul Acharya, 21. "This is the time all youngsters should join the movement so that the future would be corruption-free."

In the IT hub of Hyderabad, lawyers boycotted courts, students skipped class and hundreds took to the streets.

Across Andhra Pradesh, a Congress party stronghold, thousands went on snap fasts, staged sit-ins, blocked roads and formed human chains.

Demonstrations are part of daily life in the towns and cities of India, a country of 1.2 billion people made up of a myriad of castes, religions and classes. But spontaneous and widespread protests are rare and the scale of this week's outpouring of public fury has taken the government by surprise.

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Police use Gandhian methods to tackle Hazare supporters

New Delhi: It was not just Gandhian Anna Hazare urging his supporters to use non-violent methods of protest, Delhi Police were also resorting to 'Gandhian' ways to manage the thousands of Hazare supporters gathered outside Tihar Jail and Chhatrasal Stadium here Wednesday.

"The anti-riot force and police deputed are unarmed. We have also asked them to handle protesters politely," Deputy Commissioner of Police BS Jaiswal told IANS.

The police personnel, numbering in thousands, have been deployed unarmed and told to exercise maximum restraint in handling supporters of Hazare who is in Tihar Jail.

The cops have also taken several measures to keep at bay a 'Ramlila Maidan-like situation'.

The reference is to a June 5 swoop by Delhi Police on the supporters of Baba Ramdev a little past midnight when the cops fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge on the people to end the yoga guru's day-old hunger strike on the black money issue.

The supporters of Hazare, who were detained from Jai Prakash Naryan Park, Raj Ghat and Pragati Maidan, were requested politely to make a queue and board the police vans. Then they were dropped off at Chhatrasal Stadium and Burari in north Delhi.

Anna Hazare still in Tihar Jail, driving a hard bargain with police

New Delhi: As evening fell upon Delhi, rush hour saw hundreds of people gathering in different parts of the Capital in support of Anna Hazare, the activist who is still in Tihar Jail after being arrested last morning.

At India Gate, nearly 5,000 marched in the second candelight vigil at this location in 24 hours, stating simply "Anna, hum tumhaara saath hain (we are with you, Anna)." The crowd of hundreds of people outside Tihar Jail was more boisterous, roaring each time word spread that the government was negotiating new terms for the mass-protest against corruption that Mr Hazare wants to hold in Delhi. As the hours passed, the police conceded more ground. Mr Hazare knows his arrest and the overwhelming public support for him has given him considerable leverage. So when the police offered him Ramlila Maidan as a new venue, he accepted; when he was asked to limit his protest's duration to 15 days, he did not. Sources say Team Anna wants the right to protest for a month.

"We are not worried, we will find a way out of this", said the Prime Minister outside his home this afternoon. However, the decision to have Mr Hazare arrested has proved to be near-catastrophic for the government. Dr Manmohan Singh's statement in Parliament this morning explaining the background to the arrest failed to placate either the Opposition or the public. The consensus is that Mr Hazare's right to hold a peaceful protest was violated.

Mr Hazare was allowed by the Delhi Police to leave jail last night, about 12 hours after he was arrested. But he turned down the offer to head out of Tihar, insisting that he wants the government to first agree that his hunger strike will not be interrupted or his protest checked as long as it remains peaceful.

Through the day, the 74-year-old who has become the totem of a people's movement against corruption consulted with his closest aides within prison. Among his visitors were spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and civil rights activist Swami Agnivesh. Outside, among the crowd, popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev, was seen standing atop a car.

Mr Hazare's hunger strike began last morning. Since then, he has had only water. Doctors have been examining him in prison.

The war between the government and Mr Hazare centres on the Lokpal Bill introduced in Parliament last week. The bill is meant to provide an antidote to the seemingly limitless corruption among politicians, bureaucrats and judges. Mr Hazare says the government has betrayed India by drafting a bill that has no intention of seriously and objectively investigating charges of venality. The BJP's Arun Jaitley stressed in Parliament that while his party has vast differences with Mr Hazare's suggestions for the bill, it does not agree with the "government-appointed Lokpal" that the current bill provides for.

Like yesterday, the public support for Mr Hazare played out in different cities. In Bangalore, Freedom Park saw thousands of protestors. Mumbai's Azad Maidan was also filled during the day with supporters of Anna.

Lady Gaga Photo,

Lady Gaga Most Searched in India

American pop singer and songwriter, Lady Gaga has become the most on-line searched and talked about personality in India.

Gaga is giving competition to the likes of frequently searched politicians in India and most of all, to our very own Bollywood actors. Gaga's top searches include her single, Judas, sounds like the Culture Shock Desi remix in association with DesiHits proved to be a huge success amongst her fans in India.

The 25 year old is set to arrive in India this October, which means this news is a huge heads up for the singer, and we're sure to say the Indian audience is eagerly anticipating in finding what this American singer has in store for them.

Are you surprised to know that Laga Gaga has become the No.1 searched personality in the whole India?

Lady Gaga more popular than Anna Hazare in India's online searches

New Delhi: Guess who is giving competition to Anna Hazare ahead of Independence Day? Believe it or not, it is international pop queen Lady Gaga. Though, the waiflike 25-year-old isn't set to fast for a cause, she has only just pipped Hazare to the number one spot in online searches in the country this month.

Go figure

Statistics revealed by the popular search engine, Google, show that with Independence Day round the corner, and Hazare pledging again to sit on an indefinite fast on August 16, the netizens from India are searching high for him.

Along with him is the world's number one pop star, Lady Gaga. Indians are highly anticipating her visit in October and the searches are soaring high for her. The maximum searches for Lady Gaga are from Haryana, followed by Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. In all, UP and MP were the top states searching for both Anna Hazare and Lady Gaga.

Google Trends reveal there is a neck-to-neck competition for the two. While in July, Lady Gaga seemed to be a point ahead of Anna, in August, there was a fight for the top slot every alternate day. While the top searches related to her are 'Lady Gaga songs', 'Lady Gaga India', 'Judas', searches related to Anna are 'corruption', 'Anna Hazare Corruption', 'Anti-corruption' and 'India Against corruption'. Interestingly, netizens from across the globe are searching for Anna. While India tops the charts, UAE and Singapore follow at spot two and three.

And the winner is...

Also Anna has found a name for himself in the list of freedom fighters. When doing a comparison analysis among the freedom fighters, the trend reveals a tremendous increase for Anna Hazare, the anti-corruption hero, though in the last 30 days though Mahatma Gandhi occupies the top slot.

Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab are the top five states, in that order, searching for Anna Hazare. Also the search in the last 30 days shows a huge rise for the key words, 'Freedom Fighters' and 'Indian Flag'. The top five regions showing patriotism are Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lady-gaga-more-popular-than-anna-hazare-in-indias-online-searches-126145&cp

Lady Gaga to appear on Indian television

Lady GaGa makes her debut on Indian television with India’s Most Desirable! Yes, for many it may have come as a shock, but the host Simi Garewal was quite confident of getting the pop diva on her show, for the first time ever on Indian television.

It’s learnt that Simi Garewal was in no mood to reveal the news and things were pretty secretive about Gaga’s appearance on the show. Now, as the Poker Face singer has shot for the episode, Star World has released a promotional video featuring her on Facebook.

The iconic singer, who is known for her bold and weird style statements, is seen wearing a black outfit and green hair. She also manages a halting Hindi and says ‘India, mujhe tumse pyaar hai’ in the video.

As per reports, Simi was in touch with Gaga's agents to get her on India’s Most Desirable, and finally she has one of the world's most desirable stars to open up on her show.

Lady GaGa coming soon on 'India's most desirable'

New Delhi: Lady GaGa will soon be seen in an Indian television show. The Pop diva, American singer-writer, best known for her style statement, will feature on Simi Selects India's Most Desirable.

The star anchor had been tight-lipped about shooting with the iconic singer till the shooting had been wrapped up.

Simi had been in touch with Gaga's agents to get her on her guest list for a while, and finally has the one of the world's most popular star being featured on her show soon.

American singer, best known for her style statement, will feature on Simi Garewal's show.

The singer expressed keen interest about India and its culture and said she was keen to travel to India in the future.

Simi's earlier show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal had featured international names like Jackie Chan, Imran Khan and the late Benazir Bhutto.

The channel, Star World India also posted a video on Facebook in which GaGa says, "India Mujhe tumse pyaar hai" (India, I love you.)

ibn

Lady Gaga’s album touched Gold in India

Lady Gaga was recently presented a Gold plaque by Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music India, and Sunil D’Sa, Vice President - Marketing during Lady Gaga’s promotional tour in Singapore where she gave a high-energy 45-minute performance at the Expo Hall, to over 3000 fans.

Gaga’s latest album Born This Way, which has spawned the hits Born This Way and Judas, was released on May 23 globally and has already sold over 1.5 million albums and 5.5 million singles worldwide. In India too, the album has hit Gold status within just six weeks of release on physical format.

The Indian version of the new album Born This Way includes the Born This Way - Indian Mix, which is remixed by Salim-Sulaiman.

Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. After enrolling at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2003 and later performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side, she signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of recording artist Akon who, recognizing her vocal abilities, signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and accomplished positions within the top ten worldwide. Achieving similar worldwide success, The Fame Monster (2009), its follow-up, produced a further three global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro" and allowed her to embark on her second global concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts in all major musical markets after the arrival of its singles "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory" – the first-mentioned achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in the history of iTunes, selling one million copies in five days.

Inspired by glam rock singers like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, as well as dance-pop artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré and ever-changing sense of style in music, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have accrued her numerous achievements including five Grammy Awards, among twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records;and the estimated sale of 64 million records, making her one of the best-selling music artists worldwide.Billboard named her the Artist of the Year in 2010, ranking her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annualTime 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes' annual lists.

wikipedia.org

India Against Corruption: Anna Hazare arrested by Delhi Police ahead of fast

NEW DELHI: Anna Hazare courted arrest after being detained by Delhi Police at his residence in Mayur Vihar ahead of his indefinite fast on Tuesday.

Senior officers of Delhi Police reached Anna Hazare's flat early in the morning and informed him that he could not leave his home. Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside the activist's house waving flags.

Anna in his addresses to the nation before his arrest asked his supporters not to stop the agitation. He urged the protesters to remain peaceful.

Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia were also taken into preventive custody by the Delhi Police.

"This is exactly what happened during emergency. Emergency has revisited the country. This detention is unconstitutional and undemocratic," said Kiran Bedi while courting arrest at Raj Ghat.

According to sources, Anna is being taken to Officers' mess, Civil Lines in Delhi.

Late Monday, at least 50 supporters of Anna Hazare were detained at Jai Prakash Narain Park, the venue of the anti-graft crusader's planned fast, for defying prohibitory orders clamped in the area.

The supporters of the Gandhian were taken in a police bus to a nearby police station, police said.

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Who is Anna Hazare?

He once contemplated suicide and even wrote a two-page essay on why he wanted to end his life. Anna Hazare was not driven to such a pass by circumstances. He wanted to live no more because he was frustrated with life and wanted an answer to the purpose of human existence.

The story goes that one day at the New Delhi Railway Station, he chanced upon a book on Swami Vivekananda. Drawn by Vivekananda's photograph, he is quoted as saying that he read the book and found his answer - that the motive of his life lay in service to his fellow humans.

Today, Anna Hazare is the face of India's fight against corruption. He has taken that fight to the corridors of power and challenged the government at the highest level. People, the common man and well-known personalities alike, are supporting him in the hundreds swelling to the thousands.

For Anna Hazare, it is another battle. And he has fought quite a few, Including some as a soldier for 15 years in Indian Army. He enlisted after the 1962 Indo-China war when the government exhorted young men to join the Army.

In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion and returned home to Ralegaon Siddhi, a village in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmadnagar. He was 39 years old.

He found farmers back home struggling for survival and their suffering would prompt him to pioneer rainwater conservation that put his little hamlet on the international map as a model village.

The villagers revere him. Thakaram Raut, a school teacher in Ralegaon Siddhi says, "Thanks to Anna's agitations, we got a school, we got electricity, we got development schemes for farmers.''

Anna Hazare's fight against corruption began here. He fought first against corruption that was blocking growth in rural India. His organization - the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (People's movement against Corruption). His tool of protest - hunger strikes. And his prime target - politicians.

Maharashtra stalwarts like Sharad Pawar and Bal Thackeray have often called his style of agitation nothing short of "blackmail".

But his weapon is potent. In 1995-96, he forced the Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra to drop two corrupt Cabinet Ministers. In 2003, he forced the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state government to set up an investigation against four ministers. In April this year, four days of fasting brought thousands of people out in support of his crusade against corruption. They also made the government realise it could not be dismissive about Anna Hazare and his mass appeal.

His relationship with the UPA government continues to be uneasy. The truce of April was short-lived. An exercise to set up a joint committee made up of equal numbers of government representatives and civil society activists, including Anna Hazare came to naught when the two sides failed to agree and drafted two different Lok Pal Bills. The government has brought its version in Parliament and Team Anna is livid.

The Gandhian is soldiering on. From one battle to another in his war against corruption. He fought from the front to have Right to Information (RTI) implemented. He is now fighting for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill, the anti-corruption bill drafted by his team of crusaders.

This year, more than 30 years after Anna Hazare started his crusade, as the 72-year-old plans a second hunger strike in Delhi against large-scale corruption at the national level. Nothing really has changed except the scale of his battle.


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/who-is-anna-hazare-96883&cp

Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare is one of India's well-acclaimed social activists. A former soldier in the Indian army, Anna is well known and respected for upgrading the ecology and economy of the village of Ralegan Siddhi which is located in the drought prone Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. The erstwhile barren village has metamorphosed into a unique model of rural development due to its effective water conservation methods, which made the villagers self-sufficient. Earlier, the same village witnessed alcoholism, utter poverty and migration to urban slums. Inspired by Hazare’s unique approach of salvaging a hopeless village, the state government has implemented the `Model Village’ scheme as part of its official strategy. Hazare is now synonymous with rural development in India.

Anna Hazare exhorts people to fill jails

NEW DELHI: Crowds thronged Raj Ghat on the eve of Anna Hazare's proposed fast as the activist made an unscheduled stop at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial to pray and meditate, in a move high on symbolism and media savvy. As news channels telecast the event, the unmistakable symbolism of an aging meditating figure in white khadi and a Gandhi cap at the Raj Ghat agitating against the establishment , spurred a crowd to gather there in support of the cause.

Hazare, who is scheduled to start an indefinite hunger strike on Tuesday, subsequently addressed a media conference that the campaign chose to call "Anna's address to the nation" . The contrast to the Prime Minister's address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort earlier in the day was unmistakable. Hazare launched a broadside against the government, deviating from his limited demand for a stronger Lokpal Bill and calling for 'comprehensive change' .

As he launched on a discourse on politics and the 'voice of the people' , Hazare touched up on issues such as land acquisition, tribal rights, development, environment degradation and strengthening democracy at the grassroots. "My hunger strike will begin tomorrow . This fight started over the Jan Lokpal bill. This is going to be a long fight. Lokpal Bill will be enacted . There is no doubt about that. The struggle for a comprehensive change will be much longer. We have to fight for the change that will benefit the nation," Hazare said. Hazare said many of India's citizens still did not enjoy independence .

"When tribals fighting for their land and livelihood are beaten and shot at, do they enjoy independence ?" he asked. "Are we seeing development or degradation? We are seeing the degradation of environment and humanity," Hazare said. Hazare responded to the prime minister's remark earlier in the day that the Lokpal Bill was now with the Parliament and that the body was supreme.

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Who is Anna Hajare

Who is Anna Hajare?
An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War

What’s so special about him?

He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra
This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in …the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills. In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.
Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.

Anna Hajare – 71 year old social activist is on fast until death, protesting against the corruption and unbiased, error-free Lokpal Bill amendments.

Now a days corruption is done in a more polished way and is not visible to the naked eye anymore. Even Corruption is going under restructuring and are finding new ways of getting away with it. In this context do you think that Anna Hazare’s act will be effective on our government?