4th Day : Anna Hazare announces ?Jail Bharo Aandolan?

Gandhian social activist Anna Hazare, who?s fast-unto-death to pressure the government over drafting a fresh anti-corruption ombudsman bill entered Day 4, on Friday announced plans to fill up the country?s jails from Apr 12 if his demands are not met.

With millions of supporters who are backing his hunger strike, and thousands joining him at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the threat might come as a below-the-belt blow for the government which is struggling to hold its own in front of the unprecedented protest movement.

A day ago the government finally agreed to form a joint committee, with equal participation of ministers and civil society to draft a fresh Jan Lokpal Bill, but not before exhausting every alternative to try and assuage Hazare?s India Against Corruption (IAC) group.

However, with no consensus on the status of the committee (formal or informal) and a dispute on who will chair the committee (IAC wants Hazare to be chairperson), the deadlock continues as Hazare announced a ?Jail Bharo Aandolan? to begin from Tuesday.

Union Minister Kapil Sibal, among those trying to negotiate with the protesting groups, on Friday reportedly said that issuing a notification, and in turn giving a legal status to the jointly-constituted bill drafting committee would not be possible.

After a quick meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, Sibal said that since the panel would include non-government personnel, giving it a formal status would be unprecedented but a letter can be issued.

Activists however say this would be unacceptable and their protest would only intensify even as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi urged the 73-year-old Hazare to give up his hunger strike.

There were talks between the government and social activists like Arvind Kejriwal and Swami Agnivesh but the sticking point was the issue of a formal notification and on who would be the head of the proposed committee.

The activists under the India Against Corruption (IAC) want Anna as the chairman of the committee, while some media reports said the name of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has cropped up to head the same.

“We are not fools. There should be formal notification to form a committee,” said activist Arvind Kejriwal.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Anna’s views will receive ‘full attention’ of the UPA government.

“There can be no two views on the urgent necessity of combating graft and corruption in public life,? Gandhi said in a statement.

Hazare said Sonia should ensure that the law is quickly drafted and implemented.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, slammed the Congress and lent full support to the movement launched by Hazare.

During an election campaign in Assam, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, of the BJP, criticized Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for ?doubting? Anna Hazare’s mission.

The Left parties also supported Hazare and demanded an all party meeting.

The movement spread all across India with people pouring in at Hazare’s agitation venue from different cities.

People in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad among many other cities also joined the movement and expressed solidarity with street meetings.

People sporting “I am Anna Hazare” placards marched in processions and shouted slogans.

“I had to pay a bribe to get a passport clearance by police. I made a mistake and now I vow not to pay again ever,” said a youth in Kolkata.

Online forums and social networking sites buzzed with pledges for the movement. The IAC said that it had also garnered support of international volunteer organisations.

Danseuse and social activist Mallika Sarabhai who is also fasting to express solidarity in Ahmedabad said Anna Hazare has taken a Gandhian stance to protest corruption.

“The tribal people became Naxalites after they were deprived for years and years. Here is a person who has taken just the opposite stance [with his peaceful agitation],” she said.

On Thursday morning reports posted on the Facebook page of IAC said Hazare was not too well. The group which is organising the mass hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, also said a woman at the site has fallen ill but is refusing food or medical help.

Earlier on Wednesday, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar stepped down from the government?s anti-graft ministerial panel on a corruption control law after Hazare took potshots at the committee for being constituted of people who themselves have corruption cases piled up against them.

Forty-two years in waiting, the Jan Lokpal Bill is touted to be India?s de facto weapon against graft. With the recent onslaught of several corruption scandals and little headway in drafting the bill the IAC had started its campaign to ensure the bill was realised.

A Lokpal means an ombudsman to root out corruption at high places in the Indian polity. The Lokpal Bill (Ombudsman Bill), 2010 is now awaiting a select parliamentary committee’s ascent.

If implemented, the Bill can allow filing complaints of corruption against the Prime Minister, ministers and all lawmakers, however, the it has been widely criticised for not being definitive enough and being poorly drafted.

The IAC, featuring prominent names like former cop Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh, demand the bill be drafted with equal participation of the both the government and civil society and see a speedy implementation.