Thaindian News

New York, Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) Hundreds of Indian-Americans and Indian expatriates converged on New York’s Times Square at noon Saturday in support of Indian social activist Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption in India.

Though happy at Hazare’s breaking off his fast following acceptance of his demand for a more powerful anti-graft bill in the next session of parliament, Indian Americans went ahead with the rally to keep up the tempo of the movement.

Comparing Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the venue of Hazare’s fast, to Egypt’s Tahrir Square, Atul Kumar, one of the organisers, said the Times Square assembly was an attempt to bring home the growing movement against corruption to Indian Americans.

Meanwhile, a group of Indians in Los Angeles continued their day-long fast Saturday in support Hazare to educate the people about all round corruption in India.

“We are happy at acceptance of Anna Hazare’s demands for a tougher Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill. But we want to educate the public and put the spotlight on corruption,” Sasidhar Kalagara, one of the organisers, told IANS.

“This is a decisive moment in the Indian history, and we can expect to see the corruption level in India go significantly down in coming years,” he said.

The NRI group will break its fast as scheduled Saturday evening and hold a meeting with the US India Business Alliance (USIBA) to garner support of the business community.

Indians in San Francisco are also holding a meeting Saturday evening in support of Anna Hazare’s crusade.

The NRI group which had organised Dandi March II, a 240-mile walk against corruption in the US last month, has been holding a candlelight vigil in Los Angeles for the last five days.

Apart from the Dandi March II team, the Los Angeles event is supported by various individuals and organisations like People For Loksatta and India Against Corruption.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)