NEW DELHI - The activist at the heart of unprecedented anti-corruption protests that have backed India's government against a wall struck a deal on Aug 18 allowing him to leave jail and stage a public fast.
Tens of thousands of Indians in cities across the country have taken to the streets in recent days in a sudden and unexpected national outpouring of anger over the blight of official graft on their daily lives.
The protests have been inspired by 74-year-old Anna Hazare, a veteran activist whose populist campaign to strengthen a new anti-corruption law has shaken India's coalition government.
It has been particularly damaging for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has been criticized for misjudging the national mood after a succession of multi-million-dollar scandals that have implicated top government officials.
Hazare was arrested on Aug 16 morning as he prepared to begin a "fast unto death" in a New Delhi public park to push for amendments to the anti-graft bill recently introduced in parliament.
In the face of mounting protests, police ordered his release, but Hazare refused to leave Delhi's Tihar jail until the authorities lifted restrictions limiting his planned fast to three days.
Possible US role
A spokesman for India's ruling party has suggested the United States might have a role in the wave of anti-corruption protests posing a growing challenge to the government.
Indian leaders have traditionally been suspicious that foreign interference may lie behind any opposition movement, although recent administrations have taken a more internationalist outlook and built strong ties with the US.
Congress party spokesman Rashid Alvi latched onto comments made last week by the US State Department in which Washington said it counted on India "to exercise appropriate democratic restraint" when handling protests.
"The US had never spoken about any movement in India. This is the first time that it did," Alvi was quoted as saying by the Times of India on Aug 18.
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