Leading Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare
Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare who was arrested by police has refused to leave prison despite the government's decision to release him, saying his campaign against government corruption will continue.
Seventy four-year-old Hazare, who was arrested on Tuesday for staging an indefinite hunger strike against a new anti-corruption law, says he will not leave prison unless he is allowed to continue his hunger strike until death, the state-funded BBC reported.
The Indian activist had pledged to go on hunger strike in the capital of New Delhi despite police refusal to allow him to fast for more than three days.
On Tuesday, Indian police arrested the leading anti-corruption campaigner as well as 1,400 of his supporters in New Delhi.
Hazare has called the proposed legislation a "cruel joke" and has described the fight against corruption as India's "second war of Independence".
He said the movement would not stop with his arrest.
In a recorded video message on YouTube, Hazare said, "Millions have joined the movement against corruption. The battle will continue, and more people will court arrest. There will come a time when there will be no space in India's jails."
Indian government says Hazare's decision to go on a hunger strike is a threat against security of the country.
In April, Hazare staged a 98-hour hunger strike that led to the government drafting a new anti-corruption law, called the "Lokpal" bill.
The bill would create a new ombudsman tasked with investigating and prosecuting politicians and bureaucrats. Hazare, however, wants India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and higher judiciary officials to come under scrutiny.
The social activist had planned to begin a second hunger strike on Tuesday as he argued that his recommendations had been ignored.
Hazare is a social conservative who dreams of an India centered around self-sufficient villages -- inspired by the leader of the India national movement, Mahatma Gandhi.
MSH/HJL/MB
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