NEW DELHI – Gandhian activist Anna Hazare was arrested and jailed on Tuesday before he could launch his indefinite fast for a strong anti-corruption legislation, triggering nationwide protests that drew tens of thousands and left the government floundering. The widely condemned arrests of Hazare and his key associates crippled parliament as an otherwise divided opposition closed ranks.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) calling for nationwide protests on Wednesday, the authorities let go Hazare confidants Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan in the evening.
“The reaction is tremendous all over India,” said former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde in Bangalore, one of scores of cities that saw numerous small and big demonstrations in support of Hazare, a 74-year-old former soldier who has become the face of India’s war on corruption.
“People are pouring out their anger. It is all spontaneous,” said Hegde, whose scathing indictment of corruption led to the exit of Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.
