Hazare team forced to move hunger-strike venue to Rajghat

Anna Hazare and his team of civil rights activists spearheading a national movement against corruption at high places has decided to shift the venue of tomorrow's day-long hunger strike to Rajghat, after the Delhi police denied them permission to stage protest at the earlier venue of Jantar Mantar.

Hazare's associates Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi made the announcement even as they held that the denial of permission amounted to denial of basic constitutional rights.

The day-long hunger strike, beginning at 10.30 am, near Rajghat, to protest the midnight armed-policed crackdown last Saturday on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's congregation at Ramlila Maidan, will be accompanied by an all-religion prayer meeting and a public debate on the Lokpal Bill.

Hazare, meanwhile, made it clear that the one-day boycott of the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal bill does not amount to the civil society members keeping off the meetings and that they would actively participate in the coming meetings, despite the government's arrogant attitude.

Shanti Bhushan, joint chairman of the Lokpal bill drafting committee, said the Delhi police has imposed Section 144 in the New Delhi district, which includes Jantar Mantar, prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons one place.

"The Delhi Police Commissioner has told us that there is no permission to sit there and directed us not to sit there," Bhushan said. "We are not fighting with them (police)," he said, adding that they had hence decided to shift the venue to Rajghat.