New Delhi:
The activists known as Team Anna were told today that they cannot hold an indefinite fast against corruption at Delhi's Jantar Mantar later this month. The Delhi Police wrote to the activists, stating that because Parliament will be meeting for its monsoon session at this time, other organisations need access to the same site, which is the preferred location for protests. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal retaliated by tweeting, "official reason (to deny permission) -- Parliament in session. Are MPs scared of people of India? How far do they want people to stay away from them?"
The Delhi Police has offered the activists another mutually-acceptable venue. Team Anna, which centres upon Gandhian activist Anna Hazare, plans to hold an indefinite fast starting July 25. They are protesting against the government's refusal to sanction an inquiry against the Prime Minister and 14 other ministers who they have accused of graft.
Mr Kejriwal blamed the police's decision on Home Minister P Chidambaram, who is on the list of ministers the activists want probed. "Anshan (the movement) will take place -- either at Jantar Mantar or in jail," said Mr Kejriwal.
Team Anna spent most of last year campaigning for the Lokpal Bill - new legislation to combat corruption among elected representatives and bureaucrats. In August last year, Anna held a massive protest camp at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan which drew thousands of people everyday. But subsequent sit-in camps did not provoke the same sort of response. The Lokpal Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in December, but has now been sent back to a parliamentary committee for analysis, effectively placing it in cold storage.