Anna Hazare's followers have made it clear that political leaders are not welcomed to join the anti-corruption campaign launched by the veteran social activist and Gandhian. Hazare's supporters stopped two political leaders - Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala - from entering the dharna venue at New Delhi's Janatar Mantar on Wednesday. Both Uma Bharti and Chautala, who had come to meet Hazare, were heckled and forced to leave the area.   Hazare,...

Ignoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeal, veteran social activist Anna Hazare began an indefinite fast on Tuesday pressing for a more stringent anti-corruption Lokpal bill. The call has evoked a massive response across the country with even the high profile NAC led by Sonia Gandhi in broad agreement with civil society. Responding to the call of Anna Hazare, hundreds turn into Satyagrahis and along with him, fast for a strong Lokpal bill...

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will observe fast unto death from today until the government enacts a comprehensive law like the Jan Lokpal Bill to tackle the menace. "My fast unto death begins on Tuesday. I was saddened when the Prime Minister rejected the demand by leading civil society members to include them and senior ministers in the joint committee to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill)," 72-year-old Hazare told...

The Manmohan Singh government and the Congress leadership appear to have overcome initial jitters and hardened their stand on the campaign launched by social activists led by Anna Hazare who began a “fast-unto-death” at Delhi’s agitation hub Jantar Mantar this morning. The Congress suspects that the entire campaign has been hijacked by the RSS which, the party feels, is looking for ways to destabilise the government after some Sangh leaders were...

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) and civil society groups are clearly not happy with the government's draft of the Lokpal Bill, intended to check corruption in high places. But a public consultation, a day ahead of the discussions that the NAC's Working Group on Transparency and Accountability is due to have with government representatives and others, demonstrated how difficult it will be to get a consensus on a...