Hazare writes open letter to parliamentarians

New Delhi: Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare Tuesday wrote an open letter to parliamentarians appealing to them not to pass the "anti-poor" Lokpal bill.

In the letter, he said that there were many critical issues affecting the common man which had been left out in the Lokpal bill. Therefore, the government bill, approved by the cabinet, would not allow them to debate on these critical issues.

"I regret to share that many issues which were addressing the common man's persisting concerns have been totally overlooked in the bill," he wrote.

Introduction of such a defectively structured bill is an affront to the honorable parliamentarians, who do not have the option of debating on some of the critical issues that we had raised for a strong anti-corruption act, he said.

"While there are many important issues on the lokpal, I write to focus and highlight the plight of the common man yet again being left out," Hazare said.

Dissatisfied with the government version of the anti-graft Lokpal bill, Hazare has decided to go on fast from Aug 16.

The anti-corruption crusader went on a 97-hour fast in April at Jantar Mantar demanding a strong anti-graft Lokpal bill.

He also sat on a one-day token fast June 8 at Rajghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, to denounce the police crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's anti-corruption protest in June.

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Jamia Millia Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jang conferring the title 'Nishan-e-Azad' on Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Faisal Hasan Trad on July 20, 2011.