India against corruption: TDP chief hits out at UPA Government over Anna Hazare's arrest

HYDERABAD: Lashing out at the Centre for the arrest of social activist Anna Hazare and preventing him from undertaking an indefinite fast over the Lokpal issue, Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu led a protest of his party workers here and sought the immediate release of the Gandhian and his followers.

"The country needs a strong law to punish the corrupt and confiscate their ill-gotten wealth. Also, the corrupt people should be barred from contesting elections," the former Chief Minister demanded as he sat on a `dharna' at the Ambedkar Statue on Tank Bund this evening.

Earlier, Naidu, legislators and senior leaders of the party took out a rally from Khairatabad to Tank Bund to protest the arrest of Hazare and others.

The former Chief Minister strongly condemned lodging the Gandhian in Delhi's Tihar Jail where several leaders have been kept as undertrials on corruption charges.

The arrest of the septuagenarian, who was set to launch a hunger-strike in Delhi demanding a strong Lokpal Bill, was totally "undemocratic and unconstitutional", the Leader of Opposition said in a statement earlier.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should apologise to the nation for having sent Hazare and other social activists, who are fighting against corruption, to Tihar jail. The arrest of Hazare and team is the height of despotic rule of the Congress -led UPA Government at the Centre that is suppressing all civil rights," Naidu maintained.

The TDP has extended full support to Hazare's fight against corruption.