A prayer meeting was organised at the Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya in Chennai to express solidarity with Gandhian Anna Hazare who is fasting in support of his demand for an effective Lokpal Bill. S. Annamalai, director of Gandhi Study Centre at the Vidyalaya, said the protest would go on at least till April 13 to retain the momentum. There will be a public meeting on the campus on April 10.
Former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Naresh Gupta, who attended the meeting, said the participants would again meet on Friday morning and chalk out the next course of action. He said the Lokpal, the ombudsman concept originated from the Scandinavian countries to check corruption, should be manned by people with integrity.
“We are not going into the details of the structure of the organisation. We need it in place and men with integrity to manage the state of affairs,” he said.
Retired IAS officer B.S. Raghavan, scores of IT employees and many social workers participated in the meeting.
In the meantime, S. Krishnaswamy, Managing Trustee, Catalyst Trust, expressed solidarity with Mr. Anna Hazare, saying that the nation would stand by him with unconditional support.
A signature movement has been started by the anti-corruption movement in the areas of Nanganallur, Madipakkam, Pazhavanthangal, Alandur, Adambakkam, Moovarasanpet and Ullagaram in support of Mr. Hazare.