Anna Hazare bashes politicians at start of fresh campaign

Anna Hazare, the anti-corruption crusader who shook the nation and almost brought the union government to its knees through his public protest in August 2011, said today he will restart his anti-graft campaign in a 'Jantantra' rally from Patna's Gandhi Maidan.

A Lokpal Bill for a central watchdog on graft looks likely to be passed in the upcoming budget session of Parliament, but Hazare remained unimpressed. The intentions of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this issue were ''not clear'', he told newspersons in the Bihar capital.

Asked if he had any expectation from recently appointed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on the bill, he said, "Everybody is the same. All of them are cheating the people."

Hazare's latest movement will be extended to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Karnataka over the year. Former army chief Gen V K Singh and former senior policewoman Kiran Bedi are also expected to attend the rally.