Anna writes to PM: Govt is murdering democracy

Peeved at being denied permission to hold an indefinite fast from August 16 on a venue desired by him, Anna Hazare on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing the government of "crushing" the fundamental rights of people.

In the strongly-worded letter, written in Hindi, Hazare charged the government with suppressing those who raised their voice against corruption.

"Your government is trying to crush those who raise their voice against corruption. This is happening more often in your government," Hazare said in his letter.

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Noting that he was not given permission to hold fast at the venues sought by him, without any proper reason assigned, Hazare questioned, "Whether all this does not give the impression of dictatorship?"

"Does it behoove of you to crush the fundamental rights of people by murdering democracy and violating the Constitution? People say your government is the most corrupt government since independence, though I am of the view that every successive government is more corrupt than the previous one."

He also questioned the police permission given to the civil society group to hold Hazare's fast only for three days, adding that no reasons were cited for this.

Hazare accused the government of finding excuses to deny permission to his proposed indefinite fast. Citing such instances, he said, "Earlier we were not given permission for our fast at Jantar Mantar on the pretext that we would occupy the whole area and not leave any space for others to protest."

The letter written by Delhi Police said that the main organisers should give an undertaking that they would vacate the park along with their supporters by 6 pm on August 18 and it should be signed by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi.

The organisers should also ensure that the gathering does not exceed 4-5,000 people and the participants are channelised and seated in an organised manner and do not spill out on the roads, the letter said.

"The government medical officers shall examine the persons participating in the fast at least three times a day and their recommendations regarding an individual's removal to hospital for medical care shall be final," the letter said.

No loudspeaker or public system will be allowed at the dharna, it said.