Changing his plans to come to Delhi, Anna Hazare will now head to Ralegan Siddhi on Monday and stay there for the next couple of days as there is no clear indication when the Lokpal Bill will be introduced in Parliament.
Noted social worker Anna Hazare on Friday began an indefinite hunger strike to protest against being "targeted" by some members of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party at his village Ralegansiddhi in Ahmednagar district.
Ahead of his day-long fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare launched a vitriolic attack on the government, charging that it was "intoxicated" by power and said the "second fight for independence" has started which will go on till corruption is eradicated.
The war of words between veteran social activist Anna Hazare and the Congress gets uglier by the day.
Bringing Rahul Gandhi in the line of fire, Anna Hazare on Friday alleged that Congress might have taken a U-turn on contentious issues of lower bureaucracy and Central Bureau of Investigation in Lokpal under his instructions and claimed that the government was delaying resolution of Foreign Direct Investment (in retail) imbroglio to avoid passing Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament.
'After Manoj Jarange Patil began his long march towards Mumbai on January 20, he kept increasing his demands and the government meekly surrendered to him.'
Ahead of Anna Hazare's one-day fast in Delhi, which has now been rescheduled to March 25, to press for protection to whistleblowers, Team Anna on Wednesday accused the ruling Congress of "sabotaging" the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Social activist Anna Hazare, whose fast for a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal Bill last month made global headlines, has spurned the Rs 1 crore 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize announced by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management. "I cannot tell why I decided to reject the award. But my mind said 'no' to accepting the award," Hazare said
With members of his team facing several controversies, Anna Hazare on Monday said he plans to restructure his core committee to also give representation to religious minorities, tribals, Dalits and youths to strengthen the campaign against corruption. Hazare also hit out at the United Progressive Alliance government for targeting key members of his team, alleging that those who are threatened by the Lokpal movement are attacking his supporters.
A set of 'uncertified' managers in Ralegan Siddhi, social activitist Anna Hazare's hometown, have been giving management lessons to many B-school students and corporate employees over the years. Read on to find out how they are doing it.
On the eve of the second meeting of the joint Lokpal Bill drafting committee, social activist Anna Hazare's supporters held a rally across India on Sunday demanding early implementation of a strong Ombudsmen legislation.
Stepping up pressure, Anna Hazare on Thursday announced a new agitation of filling up jails (jail bharo) from January 1 if Parliament does not pass a strong Lokpal law, amid indications that it is unlikely to be done before the scheduled conclusion of the current winter session.
The United Progressive Alliance government had faced criticism from all quarters over the detention of Anna Hazare hours before the activist was scheduled to go on an indefinite fast.
Anna Hazare came in for scathing attack from Congress leaders who dubbed him a RSS spokesperson for his charge against Rahul Gandhi over the Lokpal issue.
Refusing to comment on why he did not take a phone call of his former associate Kiran Bedi, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Wednesday said he wanted to stay away from "political dirt."
His coaching resume also includes stints in the IPL, head coach of Puducherry for the 2019-20 season, and chief coach of the USA national cricket team from 2020 onwards.
Doctors attending to veteran social activist Anna Hazare in Pune have noticed significant progress in his health. Dr Mahendra Kawedia, one of the doctors attending to Hazare, said he is responding well to medical treatment. "Anna is very happy and he is responding very well. We did not conduct any new tests. On Thursday, Anna exercised on the treadmill, which is very good. He even exercised on the static cycle continuously for 15 minutes. He did not feel tired," he said.
Fresh controversy dogged Team Anna on Saturday as Anna Hazare's former blogger made public a blog, which was kept under wraps to blunt the Gandhian's claim that he had not spoken to him about re-organising his core team.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare is likely to rope in Bollywood actor Aamir Khan for the new phase of his movement, which he plans to launch in January.
Anna Hazare is likely to be present in the viewers' gallery of the Parliament when the Lokpal Bill would be tabled and discussed, sources close to him said in Mumbai on Friday.
Anna Hazare's fast to demand a strong Lokpal Bill entered the seventh day in New Delhi on Monday with his team asserting that they have no intention to topple the government.
After two prominent activists resigned from his team after objecting to the way the campaign is being run, Anna Hazare on Wednesday hit out at his critics, saying he ignores "incoherent and illogical" discussions about his movement. Hazare said, "My movement has given rise to incoherent discussions in political circles and I do not pay heed to them". "I have heard illogical discussions and interpretations crop up due to political rivalry," he said.
As consensus eluded political parties on the issue of Lokpal, activist Anna Hazare on Thursday said that he has confidence in Parliament and it will pass the bill.
A day after he gave the sobriquet "new Gandhian" to Anna Hazare, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday declined to stretch the issue further.
In an apparent softening of stand, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said Parliament was supreme and would accept its decision if it rejects the Lokpal Bill. Hazare also showed some flexibility on the August 15 deadline he had set for passage of the Lokpal Bill by Parliament saying he was open to extending it if he found that the government was on the right path.
Shiv Sena on Friday voiced its strong opposition to social activist Anna Hazare's plans to visit Pakistan in connection with anti-corruption movement.
Anna Hazare will not campaign in the upcoming Assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh, as announced earlier owing to his poor health, his close aide Kiran Bedi said on Thursday.
Anna Hazare on Friday hinted at expansion of his Core Committee as a sense of unease gripped his team over allegations of financial misconduct by some of its key members.
That the political philosophy of Anna Hazare closely resonates with the overall anti-democratic Hindutva ethos owes, in part, to the Brahminical worldview that they share, says Yogi Sikand
"Ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to contest an election," chanted thousands of supporters of activist Anna Hazare as they marched down the streets of Lucknow on Saturday. This was their reaction to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's recent statement challenging Hazare to contest the next Lok Sabha election. Their sentiments were echoed by scores of other speakers, who converged at Lucknow's Jhulelal Park that has become symbolic with Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
As Anna Hazare's campaign for a strong Lokpal Bill gathers pace in rural India, people in a non-descript village in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh have gone a step further in extending their support to him by establishing a make-shift temple, idolising the Gandhian.
Sahim Salim spoke to Muslims in the national capital to get a sense of what they think about Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign.
Hazare-led campaign has got wide publicity in the US media.
While senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Tuesday that Anna Hazare must be praised for the 'good work' he has done in his native village Ralegan Siddhi, he continued his tirade against the social activist's movement and Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a PIL seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged siphoning off of funds given to an NGO Hind Swaraj Trust run by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and issued notices to the Centre and Maharashtra government. A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai sought the governments' response on a petition filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma, accusing Hazare of siphoning off of funds granted by the government.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Saturday said that he would extend all possible support to veteran social activist Anna Hazare if he initiates a protest against corruption in Uttar Pradesh. "If he (Anna Hazare) wants to hold demonstrations in any part of the country, then Uttar Pradesh would be the best place. If he holds a demonstration or fast there, then we (Congress) will also do the same in his support," he said.
Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday distanced himself from senior lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan on the issue of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was not the team's stand and the lawyer-activist was airing his personal views.
Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy on Saturday said that he was ready to extend support to social activist Anna Hazare provided he distances himself from the "Naxalites" in his team.
Acknowledging that he "committed violence" when he made the infamous remark "just one slap" after Sharad Pawar was attacked in Delhi last month, Anna Hazare on Tuesday said he did not consider this violence as wrong.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has said that Anna Hazare is above Parliament and he has the right to do so as a citizen.