Chronology of anti corruption movement by Anna Hazare

(Updated  on 26st August)

26 August 2011
Government asked Anna Hazare to guarantee of ending his fast once the discussion(debate) opens in Parliament.

25 August 2011
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday offered a new formula saying that the Government was ready to debate all versions of the Lokpal Bill in circulation at Parliament. He also said that the bills prepared by Aruna Roy’s NCPRI and Jaiprakash Narain will also be debated by the Parliament alongwith the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh met Anna Hazare at his protest camp at Ramlila Maidan. Deshmukh reportedly conveyed a message from the Prime Minister to urge Anna to end his fast and also asked him to consider the Prime Minister offer to debate all versions of Lokpal Bill in Parliament.
Anna Hazare had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to start the parliamentary discussion the next morning itself. Hazare had also put forward his three demands to the Prime Minister – Citizen’s Charter, Lokayuktas in all states with Lokpal powers and inclusion of lowest to highest bureaucracy.
Popular South Indian actor Vijay met Anna Hazare at Ramlila Maidan and also fasted through out the day to express his support towards anti-corruption. Saluting Hazare’s “will-power”, Vijay said its praiseworthy the way the movement got public support that too without any political background.

24 August 2011
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi visited Ramlila Maidan on Wednesday morning. He stated his visit was as a common man and had nothing to do with his party as he supported the cause of Anna Hazare.
An all-party meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his official residence in New Delhi represented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. However the meeting ended with Mukherjee appealing Anna Hazare to end his fast, prompting the civil society to declare that they were “back to square one”.

23 August 2011

South Indian superstar Rajinikanth pledged his support for Anna Hazare’s movement for the Jan Lokpal bill stating that he was happy that an able and dedicated leader like Anna Hazare is leading the fight against corruption. He also congratulated all Indians for lending their support to the ‘bloodless revolution’.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday appealed Anna Hazare to end his fast. He wrote a letter to Anna stating that he will ask Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar if Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill can be sent to the Standing Committee. Prime Minister also said that the government was concerned about Anna’s health.

22 August 2011
On behalf of Anna Hazare, Sri Sri Ravishankar on Monday met NDA leaders at L. K. Advani’s residence to discuss the Lokpal issue and garner opposition support.
Anna Hazare, on his 7th day of fast said he would not negotiate with any other mediator, including P. Chidambaram or Kapil Sibal. He also said he would only negotiate with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or Maharashtra Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan regarding the Jan Lokpal Bill.

21 August 2011
Anna Hazare’s camp on Sunday called their supporters to confront individual Members of Parliament and Union Ministers at their residence and also warned the UPA government that its days would be numbered if it failed to pass the Bill by August 30.
Over 1 lakh supporters had thronged Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, to show their support against corruption.
Around 50,000 supporters marched in the streets on Mumbai to support Anna Hazare’s call for an effective anti-cor ruption legislation. The marchers stated from the Bandra railway station and walked all the way to Juhu, and reportedly was one of the biggest protest in Mumbai.

19 August 2011
Anna Hazare left Tihar Jail at 15 minutes to noon IST after 3 days with spontaneous roar of welcome from the huge crowd accumulated near the Jail premises. Just passed the gates, he raised his hand in the air and shouted “Bharat mata ki Jai (Victory to Mother India)”. He also addressed public stating: “Whether I am there or not, this fight will continue.” which too recieved a huge roar of applause. Anna waved national flag towards the crowd, responsing the crowd fluttered hundreds of smaller flags and chanted “Anna zindabad (long live Anna)”.
Paying obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate, Anna Hazare reached Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan to launch 15-day mass protest against corruption.
Anna Hazare finally launched his protest at Ramlila Maidan as he declared that he will not quit the venue till the Jan Lokpal Bill is brought.
Varun Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party MP announced that he will introduce Anna Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha as a private member’s bill by saying that Jan Lokpal Bill is better than anything the nation has seen before and would like to make a small contribution in his own way.

18 August 2011

Anna Hazare agreed to leave jail after Delhi Police granted him permission to fast for 15-days against corruption at Ramlila Maidan. However, he would spend another night in Jail till the venue is ready.

Arvind Kejriwal left Tihar jail being there for two days. Kejriwal called this move as just the beginning of their fight against corruption, and also confirmed that Anna Hazare would leave the jail once the grounds at Ramlila Maidan are ready for the fast.

17 August 2011

After almost a day, Anna still refused to leave jail and spent the night in a room in Tihar jail, despite the government decision to free him.

Delhi Police made concessions for Anna Hazare to fast, stepping up from seven days to 14 days and finally 21 days at Ramlila Maidan.

Congress made a statement that they suspected a foreign hand in the protests and asked the government to probe if the US was behind Anna’s agitation .

16 August 2011

Anna Hazare was detained by Delhi Police in the early morning before he could start his hunger strike at JP park, Delhi. Delhi Police had asked Anna not to leave his home, which he declined, and Anna was detained at his residence in Mayur Vihar. Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Manish Sisodia and more than 1200 supporters. were also taken into preventive custody by the Police.

Anna Hazare was sent to seven days judicial custody to Tihar jail after refusing to sign a personal bond to be released on bail.

Shehla Masood, an RTI activist and a strong supporter of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, was shot dead around 11.30am IST. An unidentified assailant shot her in front of her house in Koh-e-Fiza, Bhopal

Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan, detained by Delhi Police on the morning ahead of Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death, were released in the evening at around 6:30pm IST.

The current telecom minister Kapil Sibal was greeted with black flags and booed by a group of students at a seminar on the Jan Lokpal bill.

With the Government of India, preparing to release Anna Hazare late in the night, however Anna refused to come out of Tihar jail until the government agreed to an unconditional permission to hold protests at JP Park.

Demonstrations were held all over India protesting Anna Hazare’s arrest. In Chennai, Mahatma Gandhi’s secretary, V Kalyanam led the protestors. He said – “India will get a sure gold medal if corruption is entered as an item in the Olympic Games. We may not be a force in football or athletics or hockey. But India is the undisputed global leader in corruption.” Referring to Anna Hazare’s arrest in New Delhi, Kalyanam said it was easier to fight foreign tyranny than the tyranny of our own people. He ridiculed the contention of Union ministers like Kapil Sibal and Chidambaram that Parliament was supreme and civil society had no voice.

15 August 2011
Anna Hazare announced at a press conference that he and his supporters were determined to go ahead with the fast on 16 August, 2011 as planned. He also urged people to court arrest to push for a stronger Lokpal bill
Section 144 was imposed a night before the planned protest date, at JP Park, Rajghat and Dilli Gate, which prohibited assembly of five or more persons.

14 August 2011
In a scathing attack on Anna Hazare, Congress spokesperson, Manish Tewari, and an MP from Ludhiana constituency, described Anna Hazare as being “involved in corruption from top to bottom”, “neck deep in corruption”, and also mentioning that the social activist needed to be “shown his place”.

For April’s anti-corruption movement, please read https://news.biharprabha.com/2011/08/background-of-anti-corruption-struggle-by-anna-hazare/