Delhi:
The arrest of social activist Anna Hazare must be explained in Parliament by the Prime Minister, said BJP's Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha today.
Home Minister P Chidambaram was scheduled to make a statement on Mr Hazare in the Lok Sabha but the House was adjourned amid noisy protests by the Opposition. The BJP says the gravity of Mr Hazare's arrest merits a response in Parliament from the PM himself.
"Till the PM comes and makes a statement, the debate won't start. We won't accept the Home Minister's statement. PM's statement on Anna or nothing," Ms Swaraj said.
The Opposition is united on the issue and have asked for his release now. In fact, the Left has also suggested that all Opposition parties boycott Parliament for three days.
(Read: Opposition wants Anna free now)Opposition parties like the BJP and the Left have described the action against Mr Hazare as the violation of constitutional right to protest peacefully against the government.
(Read: Anna's arrest unconstitutional, says Left)"I have given a suggestion that we should boycott Parliament for three days. All Opposition parties will meet later today to take a decision on the issue", CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta told PTI.
Mr Hazare was arrested this morning from Supreme Enclave in Delhi's Mayur Vihar, minutes before he was to begin his hunger strike at Jai Prakash Narain Memorial Park in Delhi.
Mr Hazare is fronting the India Against Corruption campaign, which has pitted a group of civil society activists against the government over a new law intended to combat venality among politicians and bureaucrats. The police say he has been taken into "preventive custody" and to safeguard against a law and order problem. Thousands of his supporters say they will court arrest.
Mr Hazare had been asked by the police to restrict his hunger strike to three days and to ensure that he did not draw a crowd larger than 5000 people. His team rejected these pre-conditions. Most of them including Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi have also been arrested.
The government insists it is not encroaching upon citizens' fundamental rights by stopping the protest.
Mr Hazare's team says the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill introduced in Parliament a few days ago by the government is weak and a "betrayal of India". The fact that the bill exempts the Prime Minister's Office has become a controversial point, not just among civil society activists but Opposition parties as well.
Ministers like Ambika Soni said today that the bill is being debated by a parliamentary committee, which has invited Team Anna to share its suggestions.
Protests like the one Mr Hazare want to lead, they say, challenge the government's right to handle legislation. If Team Anna had agreed to the police's parameters for their protest, they add, there would have been no need for any arrests.
(With PTI inputs)