Anna Bol Halla Bol!!!: For Anna

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Sikh Americans back Anna Hazare campaign

Prominent Sikh Americans have voiced support for social activist Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption. Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said: "Anna Hazare's campaign has the capacity to create conditions for clean and ethical politics to survive and thrive in India."

He also expressed confidence that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would "find a way out as he has done on many other challenging issues facing India in the recent past".

"Corruption does to a country what termites do to the foundation of a house. For India to achieve its full potential, corruption needs to be replaced by a fair, open, and speedy method of governance at all levels," said Navneet Chugh of The Chugh Firm, a leading law firm.
Charnjit Singh Randhawa, chairman and CEO of Washington based Rockefeller Consulting Insight Capitalists, said: "Corruption is a cancer that has suffocated every honest person in India and it is our duty to bring clean way of life to the forefront."

Ken Bajaj, chairman and CEO of Systemsnet, also based in Washington, added: "We congratulate Anna Hazare for having the courage to lead this noble cause. Every Indian must see this as a task to convert world's largest democracy to achieve rightful place in the world."

Rajendra Singh supports Hazare

Magsaysay awardee and water expert Rajendra Singh on Wednesday extended his support to Anna Hazare by terming his fight as a peaceful agitation.

"The people have witnessed many agitations. However, all those agitations promoted violence. Anna Hazare has shown that peaceful agitation can become successful", Singh said after delivering a lecture at a function in the city.

On Monday and Tuesday, employees of the revenue department wore black badges to work and organized a demonstration at the district collector's office.

President of state revenue employees' federation Laxmikant Pacharane said, "The two-day agitation received a good response from members. The employees' federation support Hazare's demands that the government should take corrective steps to restrict corruption. Agitation at the district collectorate was held during the lunch break".

Pacharane said employees from other state departments, such as irrigation and education, and employees from Sassoon hospital, etc. also extended their support to the agitation. Similar agitations were held in other districts during the last couple of days, said Pacharane.

Dalit Support for Hazare spreads

Support for Hazare spreads

Into its ninth day, the agitation launched by Gandhian Anna Hazare, continues to draw supoort in several measures.

The Karve Road Merchants' Association will take out a rally on Thursday to express support to the Jan Lokpal bill. A statement issued by executive president Ajit Sangle said that the merchants will gather at Nalstop chowk at 3.30 pm and walk to Balgandharva chowk where activists of India Against Corruption have been staging an agitation since last week.

The Nagrik Chetna Manch has organised a lecture on Jan Lokpal bill by Abhay Firodia, chairman of Force Motors on August 31 at Poona Club. "The lecture will be followed by interaction with Firodia who has had a very long association with Anna Hazare," a statement said.

The Rashtriya Dalit Congress expressed its support on Wednesday. Kishor Shinde, secretary of the organisation, said, "A section of people have been misleading the Dalits by claiming that Hazare was out to change the Constitution whose architect is Babasaheb Ambedkar. There is no substance in the allegation and Dalits would do well to remember that corruption has been hampering the progress of the country and Hazare's Lokpal bill is based on the Constitution."

Govindacharya lends support to Hazare's fast

Former BJP ideologue Govindacharya on Thursday lent support to Anna Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal asking him to continue it and accused BJP of not playing well its role as the main opposition on the issue. "I came here as a conscious citizen of this country. I did try to be a negotitator. I will try to take this forward but Anna Hazare should not end his fast," he told reporters at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.

He also said Hazare's movement was "much bigger" than the Jai Prakash movement of the 1970s.

"10% of the RSS will be here because they are concious people," he said.

Govindacharya also accused the main opposition BJP of not playing its role well on the issue.

Shimla shuts shops in Anna support

The anti-corruption campaign of social activist Anna Hazare has stirred people of Shimla too. Traders in the hill town observed a one-day Shimla bandh and shops remained shut in support of Anna's crusade on Wednesday.

Traders and members of Beopar Mandal Shimla, submitted a memorandum to President of India through Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, pleading for the President's intervention in the matter of having a strong Jan Lokpal Bill while urging her to take concrete steps to diffuse the present stalemate. President of Shimla Beopar Mandal, Ramesh Sood said, "The call for market bandh in Shimla had been given to support Anna and his team for a strong Jan Lokpal Bill and as a show of support for the Gandhian who has been on indefinite fast." He added that a copy of the memorandum has been sent to the President of India by post. The traders also took out a procession holding banners and tricolours to show solidarity with Shimla Team Anna.

Bachendri Pal sits in dharna in support of Anna Hazare

Bachendri Pal, the first woman to climb Mt Everest, came out in support of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement and sat on dharna at Sakchi roundabout here on Thursday.
Bachendri Pal sits in dharna in support of Anna Hazare

Pal, chief of Tata Steel Adventure Sports, was accompanied by Premlata Agarwal, the oldest Indian woman and first from Jharkhand to climb Mt Everest three months ago and Bangaluru's mountaineer-cum-lawyer Kokila Sudha.

Supporting civil society's Jan Lokpal Bill, Pal said she has been supporting Hazare's crusade against corruption right from beginning and took part in dharna on Thursday for self-satisfaction.

Pal said a stringent anti-corruption bill had become necessary in the country to check the menace, "which has crossed all limits affecting general masses in the country".

Agarwal said, "we are raising our voice from roof top in support of Jan Lokpal bill but nothing has happened even after Hazare's fast for the last ten days", she said.

Ex-servicemen extend support to Hazare

The Indian Ex-Servicemen League (IESL), which represents over 40 lakh ex-servicemen in the country along with their family members, on Wednesday extended its support to Anna Hazare who has been fasting here for the past nine days demanding a strong Lokpal Bill.

"The IESL completely supports Anna Hazare's "Anti Corruption" campaign. The League represents over 40 lakh ex-servicemen including their families," an IESL statement said today.

IESL is a non-government organization with representations from former defence personnel from all the three services.

Techies log out for Anna Hazare's cause and Jan Lokpal Bill

The protest against corruption in Hyderabad spread out on Tuesday with more independent groups surfacing to organise their own rallies. On Tuesday, around 200 techies took out an anti-corruption rally at Kothaguda junction in support of Anna Hazare's cause and to create awareness about the Jan Lokpal Bill. On the other hand, Hyderabad Kirana Merchants' Association at Begum Bazaar took out a rally saying that members of five other associations were joining them.

Each group had a different reason to participate in the anti-corruption rallies. "There is a perception that people dwelling in this part of the city do not really care about the cause. This rally was to make people aware that we do care and we too want a corruption free India. Though the number of techies that turned out was not very huge, slowly we will increase in number," said Bala Subramaniam, an IT professional.

Employees of firms such as Microsoft, Wipro, Infosys, CA, Google, Deloitte, Dell, HCL, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others participated in the protest

IIT, IIM seek online support

In a unique way to pledge their support for Anna Hazare's fight against corruption, more than 2,000 people including students and faculty members of India's noted management and engineering institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) have formally endorsed an online petition. The petition seeks public support against graft and appeals people to skip one meal in a day till Anna continues with his fast.

Amid 2,084 signatures that were received on till late on Wednesday evening, there were few from IIT-K and IIM-L faculty members. Expressing his views, Deepak Gupta said: ``I don't agree with everything that Jan Lokpal Bill states but I truly like the concept which is super. If Parliament has been representing views of common man, there would have been no need of drafting such a Bill.'' Deepak signed the petition as an individual but he also happens to be a faculty at IIT-Kanpur. Supporting the Gandhian path, teacher fraternity at IIT-K will observe a day's fast on Thursday to express solidarity with Anna.

Anna supporters hold Roza Iftar in Lucknow

Activists of India Against Corruption (IAC) Wednesday organized a ‘roza iftar (ritual breaking of Ramzan fast)’ for Muslims thronging the Jhule Lal Park here where 11 Anna followers are on a fast in solidarity with Anna Hazare whose hunger strike for a strong anti-Lokpal bill continued for the ninth day.

The iftar was attended by over 50 Muslims who have been regulars at the protest venue over the past several days. They were led by Maulana Athar Ali Naqvi from Darul Uloom Nadwa-tul-Ulema, widely recognised as among India’s leading Islamic seminaries.

This comes close on the heels of whole-hearted support to the Anna movement by All India Muslim Women Personal Board, whose president Shaista Amber led a delegation of nearly 100 women earlier during the day to offer prayers for Anna Hazare’s health.

Amber was also critical of Delhi Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari, who had sought to term Anna’s campaign as ‘communal’. Several Muslim supporters of Hazare also flayed Bukhari for his comments.

NGOs support Anna with hunger strikes in Chanda

Even as anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's hunger strike entered the eighth day on Tuesday, those fasting here to express solidarity with him vowed to continue their hunger strike until Anna ends his fast.

While four persons have taken up the indefinite hunger strikes at two different places in town, a chain hunger strike and daily sit-in agitation before the district collectorate is also being staged since August 16.

RTI activist and social worker Nitin Bansod was the first to take up an indefinite hunger strike in support of Anna Hazare at Mahatma Gandhi statue in Chandrapur. He began on August 17 and it was his seventh day of fasting on Tuesday. Doctors examined Bansod on the fourth day and recommended medication, but he declined it. Cops also tried to persuade him to give up.

Bandu Dhotre said the government should not test Hazare's patience and his supporters, and begin dialogue to break the impasse. "People are fed up of corruption," he said.

Hunger strike, rally in Ponda

Social activists and women organized a hunger strike and a rally respectively in the town on Wednesday in support of the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.
Expressing solidarity with Hazare in his fight against corruption, Ponda Kala va Krida Mandal has organized day-long token hunger strikes for activists at the old bus stand which will continue till August 31.
Several women from Ponda also took out a candle light rally on Wednesday evening. The rally that passed through several parts of the town was attended by 300 women.

2,000 farmers from Uttar Pradesh set off to Delhi to back Anna Hazare

Some 2,000 farmers from Uttar Pradesh are headed to New Delhi in support of the fasting Anna Hazare, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said on Thursday.

"BKU supports Hazare's campaign," BKU's Dharamendra Malik said in Muzaffarnagar, some 350 km from Lucknow. He said the farmers were headed to Delhi's Ramlila ground where Hazare is fasting.

He said the farmers were drawn from Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Bijnor and Saharanpur districts.

The BKU accused Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi of being a "mute spectator" to the deadlock between the government and the civil society over a Lokpal bill.

"He (Gandhi) must become active so that the issue can be sorted out at the earliest," Malik said. "We believe the central government is just having a monologue, and not dialogue."

Autowala rally in support of Anna Hazare

Support for Anna Hazare's campaign for Jan Lokpal Bill is gaining momentum with every passing day. On Tuesday, several auto rickshaw drivers under the banner of Three-seater Auto Rickshaw Chalak Sangharsha Samiti took out a massive rally to voice their support for the Gandhian activist's campaign against corruption.

Harishchandra Pawar of Nagpur Zilla Auto Chalak Malak Mahasangh told TOI that the rally flagged off from Yashwant stadium passed through Munje square, Loha pool, Tilak Putala square, and culminated at Variety square. About 150 auto rickshaw drivers representing various unions participated in the rally.

Pawar said, "Fed up with the harassment by RTO officials and traffic police department, our members decided to support Hazare's movement. We want these corrupt officials to get punished so that we get relief from their illegal demands."

Meanwhile, the traffic wing of the city police has decided to launch a drive against autorikshaws and other private vehicles carrying school children beyond their capacities and the bikers doing stunts, from August 29.
Sources said that the traffic department received several complaints against young bikers doing stunts on roads and jumping traffic signals as well as rash driving.

Former PM I K Gujral comes out in support of Anna Hazare

Coming out in support of Anna Hazare, former Prime Minister I K Gujral today said the Gandhian's campaign against corruption has made the common man feel empowered and realise that he can be an " agent of change" in the society.

In a letter to Hazare, Gujral appreciated his "singular effort to galvanise" the entire nation of the issue of fighting corruption, which has spread to every organ of the society like a "cancer".

"I dare say that your clarion call has stirred our nation in a manner that is reminiscent of our Independence struggle, when young and old, rich and the poor selflessly dedicated themselves for the success of a movement that shaped our future," he said in the letter

Anna Hazare latest fashion at Lakme Fashion Week

No prizes for guessing what is the trendiest piece of garment at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week: Gandhi caps depicting 'I Am Anna Hazare'.

The third day of the Lakme Fashion Week Winter-Festive collection saw several guests and models supporting anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption.

"I am supporting Anna Hazare and thought of distributing Gandhi caps at Lakme Fashion Week. With this, everyone across the world would come to know about the issue he is fighting for and hence more support would pour in," Viren Shah, president of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association, said.

Guests at the Lakme Fashion Week were seen wearing Gandhi caps, while models were seen holding them in their hands during Debarun, Shymal and Bhumika's show today evening.

While designer duo Parvesh-Jai have also been supporting Hazare by wearing a black ribbon and a batch that says 'I Am Anna'.

"I have been wearing a black ribbon and the batch from last two days. I find it absurd that why Anna was arrested... as what he is doing is for the betterment of the country," Parvesh said.
"I am supporting Anna. I hope people will become aware about the issue and support him," Jai said.

Muslim Women Personal Law Board backs Anna, slams Imam Bukhari

A day after Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari came down heavily on Anna Hazare’s campaign for the use of slogans like ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat mata ki Jai’, All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) president Shaista Amber on Tuesday criticised him and said that nobody forced Muslims to raise these slogans in the anti-corruption movement.

Shaista Amber said people of all communities had participated in the freedom struggle and then slogans were raised without any hesitation. On Tuesday, she staged a dharna with 35 other Muslim women at Jhulelal Park where eight persons are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike since August 15. They also offered special prayers for the well-being of Anna Hazare and the success of his movement.

Originally, 15 persons had started an indefinite hunger strike at Jhulelal Park since August 16. But seven of them ended their fast on Tuesday on doctors’ advice. Shaista Amber said, “In the holy Quran, Muslims have been asked to protest atrocity and corruption. Therefore, every Muslim should support Anna Hazare’s anti-graft campaign.’’

Congress MPs Priya Dutt, Sanjay Nirupam extend solidarity to Anna Hazare's campaign

MUMBAI: Lending support to veteran social activist Anna Hazare, whose fast demanding a strong Lokpal entered its eighth day today, Congress MPs from Mumbai, Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt extended their solidarity support to him.

Nirupam along with other supporters in Mumbai on Monday showed a motivating spirit to the rest of the people, who are supporting against the corruption cause.

"The main point is that I am a supporter of Anna Hazare's campaign because this campaign is against nation's important issue, this campaign is against corruption, I want this campaign to be successful and an effective Lokpal bill should be made so that a common man and a minister can be administered in that bill and this is the importance of the Lokpal bill and that is why I am supporting it," said Nirupam.

Whereas people in other part of Mumbai also protested outside the residence of Priya Dutt, seeking an effective Jan Lokpal Bill.

"I have clearly told to my constituents and I am very happy that everybody has come here and I guess people come here when they have faith on their parliament to express their feelings. I have told them that like always we are with the people and thoughts which they have expressed to me, I will definitely take up those thoughts into the Parliament," said Dutt.

She further said that passing a Jan Lokpal Bill or a Lokpal bill is a secondary issue, the important notion is to have an effective accountability system for the benefit of the people and the country.

The Jan Lokpal (Ombudsman) Bill, the anti-graft legislation, is seen as a weapon to root out corruption and nepotism from the government machinery and in public life.

The proposed Bill envisages the set up of a national anti-corruption watchdog to check financial mismanagement and corrupt practices that have deeply pervaded several democratic and civic institutions of India.

Rajinikanth supports Anna Hazare

CHENNAI: Actor Rajinikanth has pledged his support for Anna Hazare's movement for the Jan Lokpal bill.

In an email sent to India Against Corruption on Tuesday, the Tamil superstar said he was happy that an able and dedicated leader like Anna Hazare is leading the fight against corruption.

"There can be no doubt that corruption is a dreaded disease that needs to be weeded from the Indian society. I am very happy that we have an able and dedicated leader in Anna Hazare to lead us in the fight against corruption. I wholeheartedly support the India Against Corruption movement in their campaign to get the Jan Lokpal bill legislated in the parliament", the actor said.

The actor congratulated all Indians who have lent their support to the 'bloddless revolution'. "This kind of peaceful movement is possible only in India which is the birth place of Sathyagraha

Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha accuse BJP of 'lip service' on Hazare issue, offer to quit

NEW DELHI: Accusing the party of not taking up seriously enough the issue of corruption, three BJP leaders including Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday offered to quit as members of Parliament.

Besides Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Uday Singh, MPs from Patnsaheb and Purnea respectively, sprung a surprise at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting here to discuss the strategy for the ongoing session as also the all party meeting on the Lokpal issue convened today.

Yashwant Sinha said that the BJP had been unable to take a strong stand on the Lokpal issue which was necessary to "take the battle forward" against corruption.

The former finance minister and Hazaribagh MP made the surprise move at the meeting chaired by L K Advani here, which expressed concern over the health of Anna Hazare and made an appeal to the Gandhian to end his fast.

Shatrughan Sinha said the BJP, instead of taking a clear cut stand, had been paying "lip service" on the Hazare issue and using the Congress as a punching bag.

Senior BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, however, sought to downplay questions about Yashwant's offer to resign saying different voices are heard in such meetings and it is the final resolution that actually matters.

Anna Hazare/ Jan Lokpal Bill