Will resume fast if Jan Lokpal Bill not passed: Anna Hazare to PM

Mumbai, Nov 1 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare Tuesday threatened to resume his fast on the last day of Parliament's coming winter session if the Indian government fails to get a strong Jan Lokpal (People's Ombudsman) Bill passed by then. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the 74-year-old activist said he did not find it right that responsible people in government and the Congress party were making remarks that creates doubts about the passage of the bill. Hazare, who called off a 12-day hunger strike in Delhi in August after eliciting a promise that his concerns will be addressed, said his team will also travel to various states to educate people about the need for a strong Jan Lokpal Bill when he resumes his fast. The winter sSession of Parliament begins on November 22 and ends on December 23. The government has been repeatedly asserting that it plans to introduce the bill during that session while Team Anna has been insisting that the government pass the bill in the session itself. "I will begin my hunger strike agitation on the last day of the Session, if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the House and the team will tour various states to educate people about the issue," Hazare said in the letter. Hazare, who since October 16 is observing a vow of silence at his home town Ralegan Siddhi in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, reminded Singh that he called off his hunger strike, which he began on August 16 following a written assurance from the Prime Minister, which was conveyed to him by Vilasrao Deshmukh, a minister in Singh's cabinet. "If an effective Jan Lokpal Bill is in place, it would help the country to get rid of corruption and also help utilise more funds towards development work," he added in the letter. PTI