A coalition of 18 civil society organizations in Bengaluru – which had organized the ‘Saaku’ campaign on December 11 – is holding a campaign ‘India Against Corruption’ on January 30.

As part of this, rallies will be held across Bengaluru and 27 other cities on the day, demanding effective anti-corruption laws and passing of the Jan Lokpal Bill. (Earlier Saaku coverage.)

Jan Lokpal bill, mooted by New Delhi-based anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal, is an amended version of the draft Lokpal Bill, 2010. Activists denounce the draft Lokpal Bill, 2010, which provides for filing complaints of corruption against Prime Minister, ministers and MPs with the Lokpal ombudsman, saying that it has no teeth.

India Against Corruption (IAC) is led by Swami Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, J. M. Lyngdoh, Justice Tewatia, Mallika Sarabhai, Maulana Mufti Shamoom Kashmi, Maulana Kalbe Rizvi, Arch Bishop Vincent M Concessao, Prashant Bhushan, Devinder Sharma, Subhash Chandra Aggarwal, Pradeep Gupta, B D Lall and Sunita Godara among others, says a release issued ahead of the rally by the IAC. 

"The Lokpal should be an independent body which can operate without political interference; it should also have powers to prosecute corrupt officials and to confiscate property which has been obtained illegally," says Srinivas Alavilli, a Bangalore-based member of the political party Loksatta, one of the organisers of the campaign.

In Bengaluru, the march will start at 10.30 am from Mahatma Gandhi statue at MG Road, go to Kanteerava stadium and culminate at the statue. Other participating cities include Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad etc.

"People from many smaller cities and from abroad showed interest in the campaign, they are taking the initiative to organize the campaign in their cities by themselves. It has been publicized mainly through Facebook and our website," says Alavilli. Organisers expect 500-1000 participants in Bengaluru rally. ⊕