Hunger-striking Hazare rejects Manmohan Singh dialogue bid

Hunger-striking anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare on Sunday rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call for dialogue and vowed to stay put until a parliament passes a bill he is backing.

Reuters/Adnan Abidi

As anti-corruption demonstrations spread across the country, Singh has been criticised for mishandling the protest with criticisms of the fast as anti-democratic and the arrest of Hazare Tuesday to prevent him staging it in public.

On Saturday he softened his stance, declaring there was "a lot of scope for give and take" over a proposed anti-corruption bill that Hazare's campaign wants replaced with their own stronger version.

But Hazare, who has not eaten since Tuesday, told tens of thousands of supporters in Delhi that "even if the prime minister comes here, I will not move from here until our bill is passed".