By IANS,
Hyderabad : Hailing the victory of social activist Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption and to express solidarity with him, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Saturday held a massive march here.
TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu led the march but the party said the march was above politics and it was also attended by people irrespective of their political affiliations.
Naidu, TDP legislators and other participants walked from Mahatma Gandhi statue at Rani Gunj in Secunderabad to Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund.
The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister administered an oath to the participants that they would continue their fight against corruption, eradicate poverty and make efforts to bring back the money stashed away in Swiss banks.
The leader of opposition called upon people to participate in the movement against corruption, saying the menace was the main reason for the country remaining poor.
Anna Hazare who sat on a hunger strike Tuesday morning, broke his fast Saturday after the government agreed to include five civil society members in the committee to draft the anti-graft Lokpal bill.
On the government accepting the demands of Hazare, Naidu said it was the people’s victory. “This is only the beginning. There should be a national debate on the role of money in politics, elections and the corruption in administration, judiciary and other spheres of life,” he said.
The TDP leader demanded that special courts be set up to prosecute those involved in corruption and recover the public money swindled by the corrupt.
Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary K. Narayana Saturday launched a 48-hour fast in Vijayawada to express solidarity with the fight against corruption. “The joint committee is only the first step. Now this committee has to work to achieve its real goal and a bill has to be passed in the parliament and implemented. The corruption can’t be eliminated in one day. It has to be a relentless fight by creating awareness among people,” he said.
The groups, which organised massive protests in support of Anna Hazare during the last four days, celebrated the victory but called for keeping up the pressure on government to root out corruption.
Hailing the victory of Anna Hazare and his supporters, Lok Satta party, NGOs and activists held rallies in Vijayawada, Karimnagar, Medak, Warangal and other towns.