Inderne har i over 40 år forsøgt at enes om en statsautoriseret vagthund mod den voldsomme korruption – nu debatterer de lovforslaget igen og det går ikke stille af
India has denied it is stifling democratic protest after police arrested 1.300 people to halt a hunger strike in the capital, Delhi, by an anti-corruption activist, BBC online reports Tuesday.
Prominent campaigner Anna Hazare (74) was arrested hours before his fast against a proposed new anti-corruption law. He has been jailed for a week in Delhi’s notorious Tihar prison.
He says India’s proposed anti-corruption ombudsman should be able to investigate any official – including the prime minister and judges. This is not the case in the proposed law.
As news of Mr Hazare’s arrest spread, his supporters came out on the streets of many Indian cities in protest. Those detained were arrested at different places in Delhi, with most of them being taken to a stadium in the city.
The police laid down six conditions for the fast to take place, which included the following: the fast should be limited to three days; no more than 400 to 500 people are allowed to gather, and there is parking for a certain number of vehicles.
Mr Hazare has called the proposed anti-corruption legislation a “cruel joke” and has described the fight against corruption as the “second war of independence”. He said the movement would not stop with his arrest.
India has recently been hit by a string of high-profile corruption scandals, including a multi-billion dollar alleged telecoms scam, alleged financial malpractices in connection with the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and allegations that houses for war widows were diverted to civil servants.
A recent survey said corruption in India cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth, BBC notes.
