August 23, 2011
Press Release
August 23 Protest Day Observance
At the call of the Left and secular opposition parties, demonstrations and dharnas were held all over the country today to demand an effective Lokpal legislation and other measures to curb corruption.
Delhi: MPs belonging to various parties sat on dharna in Parliament House.
Kerala: In 138 centres big demonstrations were held.
Tamilnadu: In Tamilnadu, picketing outside collectorates were conducted in all districts
Andhra Pradesh: In Hyderabad a dharna was organized and similar dharnas were organized in all district centres.
West Bengal: A procession was organized in Kolkata. Rallies and processions were taken out in all other district centres.
Tripura: A big rally was organized in Agartala. Processions and meetings were organized in all other district centres.
Karnataka: A dharna was organized in Bangalore and there were demonstrations and dharnas in nine other districts.
Uttar Pradesh: In Uttar Pradesh, demonstrations and dharnas were held in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Deoria, Balia, Etawah, Bulandshehar, Sultanpur and other places.
Orissa: A dharna was staged before the Raj Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.
Jharkhand: A big dharna was organized in Ranchi. Dharnas were also organized in Dhanbad, Bokaro, Sahebganj, Hazaribagh, Palamu and other districts.
Rajasthan: Demanding firm action against corruption, the Left parties organized demonstrations and rallies in Jaipur and 17 other districts.
Reports from other states are awaited.
Given the overwhelming support for the Anna Hazare fast, it is imperative that the Central Government immediately initiate talks with the representatives of the Anna Hazare group so that the issue of adopting an effective Lokpal legislation in parliament is resolved.