Activist Anna Hazare today threatened to go on an indefinite protest fast from August 16 if the government did not pass the Lokpal Bill by then. Hazare observed a daylong fast at Rajghat to protest police action against Baba Ramdevs supporters,which he assailed as a blot on humanity and an attempt to stifle democracy. Hazares associates Arvind Kejriwal,Kiran Bedi,Shanti Bhushan and Swami Agnivesh joined him along with an estimated 5,000 supporters,many of whom wore Gandhi topis and waved the tricolour. Speakers at the gathering repeatedly described their protest as the second freedom struggle. Our country is still not independent; there is no difference between the British Raj and the present government. The white rulers have left,but the black rulers are ruling as they please, Hazare said. In our country the praja is in the villages and is powerless,while the satta is here in Delhi. The government should know that they are here to serve the masses and not to rule over them. The gram sabha is more powerful than the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, he said. The June 4 police action at Ramlila Maidan was a repeat of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre sans the firing,Hazare said. He compared himself to Bhagat Singh,Rajguru and Sukhdev,and announced that he wasnt afraid of dying. I do not need to ask for security and I am not afraid of death. Bhagat Singh,Rajguru and Sukhdev never asked for security. Had they done so,our country would not be free, he said. Hazare lashed out at the government for targeting civil society members involved in the drafting of the Lokpal Bill,Shanti Bhushan,Prashant Bhushan,Santosh Hegde and Arvind Kejriwal. The government has been levelling allegations to defame members of civil society. This is only to put hurdles in the drafting of the Bill. Kejriwal said,Everyone is angry with the atrocities that were committed on Saturday night. It was an assault on democracy. In a democracy,it is extremely important that whenever there is injustice,people should protest. To assemble peacefully and to protest is an assertion of our fundamental rights and we will continue to do so. We are ready to face the consequences. It looks like the government has torn the Constitution and thrown it away. Kejriwal rejected HRD Minister Kapil Sibals objection to politicians being called cheats and liars. If politicians have been accused of being cheats and liars,what is wrong in that? By being corrupt and dishonest,have they not cheated the country? he said to loud cheers and applause. Former police officer Kiran Bedi said,This is the second war of independence against corruption,extortion and bribery. We are not against politicians. We had in fact approached them,but they did not want to take up the struggle,so Anna had to take up the fight.
