No freedom till corruption is removed, says Hazare

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Till corruption is removed from the country, people would not get their true freedom, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare said here today.

Addressing a rally against corruption here, the 72-year-old Gandhian said, the second movement for India's independence has started with the need for fighting corruption and implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the country.

"What are we free from? From who are we free? Only the English rulers were thrown out in 1947 but corruption, looting, goondaism were not thrown out," Hazare said at the rally organised by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti led by RTI activist Akhil Gogoi.

Stating that he was inspired by the youth during his Jantar Mantar fast in Delhi for the Lokpal Bill, he asked the people, particularly the youth, to start a "jail bharo andolan" to take forward the movement against corruption.

"The government will become alert and you will get the independence our country rightfully deserves...The government is scared of the people as they can bring it down in election," he said. "I was jailed for three months on accusation of defaming a politician in Maharashtra by exposing his corrupt practises.

Within five days of my internment when the country arose in my support, the government got worried and ordered my release," he said. "I had gone on a fast for 12 days for implementation of the Right To Information Bill and ultimately the President had to give assent to the legislation", Hazare said.

"The Lokpal bill is also coming into force. Till ministers and bureaucrats do not go to jail for corruption they will not fall in line," he pointed out. Hazare's co-activists Swami Agnivesh, Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, former journalist and trustee of Public Cause Research Foundation Manish Sisodia also spoke on the occasion.

To stop corruption, Kiran Bedi asked the people to demand from their politicians and bureaucrats to have a fixed time each day to meet common people without appointment in their office to know their problems.

She also urged the people to demand that each bureaucrat visit unannounced at least thrice a week areas under their department to ensure there was no corruption. Swami Agnivesh said, "It is not enough to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill but to have it passed before August 15 for a new freedom movement."