New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare will sit on a day-long fast at
Jantar Mantar on Sunday to demand that Parliament pass the Lokpal Bill
and a stronger whistleblower protection programme. Anna will also
protest the death of Madhya Pradesh IPS officer Narendra Kumar, who
was killed by suspected mining mafia on March 8 in Madhya Pradesh.
Narendra Kumar's family is also likely to be part of the Anna's fast
at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.
Anna is demanding protection for whistleblowers, a portion that has
been removed from the final version of the bill drafted by the
government. Families of murdered whistleblowers like S Manjunath and
Amit Jethwa are likely to be at the fast venue.
This will be the first hunger strike undertaken by 74-year-old Anna
Hazare after he called off his three-day fast for a strong Lokpal Bill
in Mumbai last December owing to failing health.
"We have been preparing for the last ten days. We have been sending
out SMSes, distributing pamphlets and doing street plays in Delhi-NCR
(National Capital Region)," said an official of Team Anna. "We are
focusing on the youth and street plays and interactive sessions are
are being conducted in Delhi University and the Jawaharlal Nehru
University (JNU)," added the official.
More than 1,000 police personnel will be deputed at Jantar Mantar, a
senior police officer said on Saturday. Delhi Police have given
conditional permission to Team Anna for the protest on the issue of
alleged killings of several honest men and officers by organised mafia
or in terror attacks.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Seju Kuruvilla said a legal
undertaking has been taken from Team Anna. "The organisers have
confirmed the presence of the father of IPS officer Narendra Kumar who
was killed in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh while intercepting a
tractor-trolley carrying illegally-mined stones," he said.
He said the family of Indian Oil Corporation officer Manjunath
Shanmugam, who was shot dead in Lakhimpur Kheri while trying to stop
sale of adulterated oil, is also likely to be present at Jantar Mantar
on Sunday.
Kuruvilla further added that Team Anna informed him about the presence
of around 40 such families at Jantar Mantar whose kin were either
killed by mafia or during terror attacks.
"We have told them that the crowd should not be more than 1,000
people. Around 10 metal detectors will be placed at three entry points
with 1,000 police personnel to avoid any untoward incident," he added.
Speaking to CNN-IBN, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said that that the
government's draft of the Lokpal Bill is weak. Bedi said that Anna has
full recovered from his illness. "Anna's health is not a concern. He
is well and has recovered substantially," she said.
"The kind of deaths the whistleblowers' familes have suffered could
have been prevented. All people are looking for is an agency they can
trust," she said.
On the separate law for whistleblowers, she said, "The Whistlebowers
Bill which they have drafted goes back to the same police systems.
It's not an independent system."
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/anna-starts-another-agitation-to-fight-graft/242374-37-64.html
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