By IANS,
New Delhi : The struggle for a stronger anti-graft law would continue till parliament finally passed the Lokpal (ombdusman) bill, socialreformer Anna Hazare said Saturday, ending his 97-hour hunger strike.
“This is the first stage of protest, I want to assure everyone that if the bill is not passed, on Aug 15, we will hoist the tricolour at Lal Qila for the second freedom strugle; and if it is passed, we will welcome the prime minister on Aug 15,” Hazare told cheering supporters at Jantar Mantar, ground zero of the protest that mobilised thousands of people across the country.
He said the activists would follow the bill till it was passed in Lok Sabha and would start the movement again if it faced hurdles.
“Our responsiblty has increased, the path is long. Now we have to prepare the draft; then, if the draft faces hurdle in the cabinet, we will struggle for getting it passed. Then when it come to Lok Sabha, it should be passed unanimously. If it faces hurdles there, I will take the tricolour on my shoulder and we will go to Lok Sabha,” Hazare said.
“We need reforms in education, in labour’s rights, in the election system,” he said. “Decentralisation of power is very important to ensure corruption is defeated. As long as the voters don’t get power in their hand, corruption will remain.”
Hazare also raised concerns about the electronic voting machine being used presently and pitched for inclusion of an option allowing people to register that they wanted to vote for none of the candidates.