Anna Hazare calls off hunger strike

Maharashtra assures to look into his demands, including action on corruption in cooperative credit societies

PTI | March 20, 2010



Noted social activist Anna Hazare today called off his five-day-old indefinite hunger strike after being assured by Maharashtra government that his demands, including action on corruption in cooperative credit societies, would be looked into.

Cooperatives Minister Harshwardhan Patil, Water Resources Minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar and Tribal Minister Babanrao Pachpute flew in by a private helicopter here from Mumbai today and met Hazare at the Yadavbaba temple here.

After discussing his demands, they offered coconut water to him.

"Hazare has agreed to call off the hunger strike after we assured him that the government was serious on acting on his demands," Patil said.

He began the indefinite hunger strike on March 16, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Marathi New Year.

He alleged that the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra was wasting public money by allowing ministers to spruce up their already well-furnished cabins. "The State is reeling under a debt burden and ministers are busy spending lakhs on renovating their cabins. This should stop."

Hazare has opposed the State's decision to promote production of wine distilled from food grain, and alleged corruption in cooperative credit societies.

"The state should give Rs 1,000 crore that bankrupt societies owe their members," he said.

Hazare said the government should seize property of directors of the defaulting societies.

Comments

 

Other News

Trump’s China setback pushes US to woo India

A week after Donald Trump’s visit to China – the first by an American president in nine years, US secretary of state Marco Rubio arrived in India on May 23 on a four-day visit aimed at resetting Washington DC’s relations with New Delhi and attending the third Quad ministerial meeting.

EU–India FTA 2026: A high‑stakes prescription for Indian pharma and healthcare

India’s pharmaceutical industry stands as one of the world’s market leaders of generic pharmacy with market valuation of USD 50 billion in 2026. Characterised by high volume, low-cost generic manufacturing, with an annual growth rate of 10-12% primarily propelled by exports and domestic demand,

Legends, vignettes and tales from the freedom movement

Robin Hood of Kathiawar and Other Extraordinary Stories from India’s Freedom Movement By The Paperclip  HarperCollins, 348 pages, Rs 499  

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells quirky tales from the world of law

The Lawful and the Awful: Quirky Tales from the World of Law By Tushar Mehta Rupa Publications, 336 pages, Rs 995  

Cabinet meet discussed `Ease of Living`, `Ease of Doing Business`

The Council of Ministers has deliberated upon valuable perspectives and best practices relating to boosting ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.   As he shared details of the Council meeting held the d

India should deepen energy partnerships with Africa

The vulnerability of Strait of Hormuz continues to influence energy politics globally. India is highly dependent on imported crude oil as a significant portion of its oil imports still come from the Gulf ultimately making such disruptions particularly consequential and has immediate economic ramifications


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter