India’s Annapalooza derails parliament
Supporters of hunger-striking activist Anna Hazare grab pamphlets explaining the anti corruption bill “Jan Lokpal Bill” at a public rally in support of Hazare at his village in Ralegan Siddhi, some 240 kms east of Mumbai on August 22, 2011. Hazare, the hunger striker whose protest against corruption has galvanised millions of Indians, sounded a note of defiance after government calls for dialogue. Hazare, who has not eaten since August 16, is fasting at an open-air venue in New Delhi in front of tens of thousands of noisy supporters who back his demands for an end to the culture of corruption among Indian officials.
Both houses of India's parliament had to shut shop early on Tuesday after the opposition raised the issue of the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, whose fast for a strong anti-corruption bill entered its eighth day, the Economic Times reports.
For details, read on here. But the gist of the story is that the pot kept calling the kettle black at greater and greater volume until the Speaker called for an adjournment.
The significance? The opposition BJP is embracing the Hazare movement, finally, even though it still objects to several clauses in the anti-corruption bill that Hazare's group has put forward.