Anna Hazare to move Supreme Court today to secure fast plan

NEW DELHI: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said that he will seek the Supreme Court's intervention against government's plans to "suppress" his fast over the Lokpal bill beginning August 16.

"Government leaders have been saying that they will suppress the agitation of Anna Hazare as had been done in the case of Ramdev. Is this democracy or autocracy? You cannot suppress.... That is why we will go to the Supreme Court tomorrow (Monday)," Hazare said.

The activist, who maintained that the constitution has given right to every citizen to protest democratically, said he will launch his indefinite fast here from August 16 as announced.

"The Constitution has given right to every citizen to lodge protest. We will launch the agitation from August 16," he said. The exercise to work out an agreed draft of the Lokpal Bill between the government and Hazare-led civil society had ended in failure last month after which Hazare had announced that he will go ahead with his August fast.

Hazare has been demanding that the prime minister be brought under the ambit of Lokpal which has been opposed by the government.

After nine meetings spread over two months, the joint drafting committee of the two sides concluded its deliberations on a note of disagreement, with the government asserting that it could not allow creation of a parallel structure which would be "answerable to nobody".

An all-party meet on Lokpal earlier this month had agreed that a "strong and effective" bill should be brought in the monsoon session of Parliament with consensus that supremacy of Parliament and established procedures be maintained.

Police had carried out a crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters, who were agitating against corruption and black money, at Ramlila ground on June 4 night, lobbing tear gas shells. The Baba was bundled out of Delhi by the police.