Ahead of Anna Hazare’s protest rally in Delhi on July 25, his supporters in Mumbai staged a march to the Adarsh Housing Society on Sunday under the India Against Corruption (IAC) banner. A group of around 200 volunteers marched from the Churchgate station to the Adarsh building at Cuffe Parade, South Mumbai.
“Adarsh is the symbol of how politicians and bureaucrats have exploited this country,” IAC coordinator Mayank Gandhi said.
Protesters demanded a probe by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into allegations of corruption against 15 “scam-tainted” Union Ministers.
“It is unfortunate that of the 34 Ministers at the Centre, there are allegations of corruption against 15. We are very concerned,” Mr. Gandhi said.“The Jan Lok Pal Bill has not been passed because of these corrupt Ministers. We have therefore demanded an SIT probe. The body should give its verdict in six months. If the SIT finds the Ministers guilty, they should be removed from office,” he said. IAC member Ravi Srivastava said the IAC wanted investigation by an independent agency as the Central Bureau of Investigation could not be trusted. Mr. Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation has called for an SIT probe by three retired Supreme Court judges.
The protesters raised slogans: “Enemies of Jan Lok Pal/Leave the seat of power.” They decried the Adarsh scam and said files related to various “scams” were destroyed in the recent Mantralaya fire.
Calling Adarsh a “building of thieves,” the agitators performed a small ‘aarti’ near the building. A big contingent of police was deployed outside the building and along the route to Cuffe Parade.
On July 25, around 50 volunteers are slated to go on an indefinite fast at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, kick-starting another round of the anti-corruption movement They have planned to gherao the residences of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Praful Patel, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Sharad Pawar.
