Econintersect: (Updated) Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has left jail after officials agreed to allow him to continue his hunger strike in public. Hazare had been arrested three days ago as he left his home to start the fast in a New Delhi public park. Police dropped charges the next day (Wednesday, August 17) and released Hazare, but Anna refused to leave until his park use permit was restored. That happened today and Hazare left jail to the cheers of a gathered crowd. See video from The Guardian below.Hazare has been pushing for the passage of strong anti-corruption legislation, known as Jan Lokpal, which would establish a powerful corruption fighting national ombudsman. Proposed legislation has been much weaker than demanded by Hazare and his supporters in that it would exclude top government officials and police from coverage.
IBN Live reports that numerous leading political figures have come out in support of Hazare. Among those specifically mentioned were Congress MP Sandeep Dikshi and Minister of State Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat. Below is a video showing a statement by Dikshit:
Sources: The Guardian, IBN Live and GEI News
Hat tip to Sanjeev Kulkarni.
