Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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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