Live: Kejriwal says he never disrespected Parliament

4.15pm: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has said that he has never disrespecteed Parliament and was only expressing his anguish about the fact that there were so many MPs in the house with criminal records against them.

“When I express my pain, they say I disrespect Parliment”, he said. Kejriwal added that he felt he had done nothing wrong when he spoke about Mps, but that if the government felt he had committed a crime he was ready for his punishment.

1.00pm: Union leaders of companies including Hero, Yamaha and Munjal arrive at Jantar Mantar to support the protest against whistleblowers.

12.10pm: Former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, speaking to the crowds at Jantar Mantar said that from his experience at Lokayukta he could say that illegal mining was not possible without political support. “I prepared a 26000 page report. It showed that at least three chief ministers were party to illegal mining”, he said.

Hegde also sought to dispel rumors that he had distanced himself from Team Anna, saying “I have always been with and still am with Anna Hazare”.

11.40am: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has begun addressing the crowd at Jantar Mantar. Hitting out at the government for not protecting those who risked their lives to protect corruption Kejriwal said, “Killers of whistleblowers are roaming freely. Jan lokpal could have saved some lives”. Kejriwal also said the government was responsible for the death of Narendra Kumar, as his family had asked the government for protection before. Organizers screened two documentaries - one on slain whistleblowers, and another featuring Narendra Kumar who was killed in Madhya Pradehs, allegedly by mining mafia.

11.15am: Anna Hazare has arrived at Jantar Mantar for his token fast which will end at 6pm. He is joined on the stage with family members of whistleblowers, as well Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Shanti Bhushan and Justice Santosh Hegde. The crowd observed two minutes silence for all the whistle blowers who lost their lives while trying to expose corruption.

10.45am: Narendra Kumar’s family arrives at Jantar Mantar. Sundays fast was called in the wake of the murder of the IPS officer who was allegedly killed by mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh. One of the highlights of today’s fast in New Delhi is that Narendra Kumar’s family, as also the family members of 25 other whistleblowers, will participate, and narrate their experiences.

Anna Hazare has just left Rajghat and will arrive at Jantar Mantar shortly.

10.30am: Anna arrives at Rajghat to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi before leaving for Jantar Mantar. Unlike on previous occasions however, there weren’t very many of Anna’s supporters at the venue, with tourists outnumbering supporters. Anna is scheduled to arrive at Jantar Mantar by 11am and will fast until 6pm. Firstpost correspondent Danish Raza who is at the venue says there are about 1000 people at Jantar Mantar. Speaking to media earlier Hazare accused the government of being insensitive to the safety of whistleblowers.

The fast also ties in with the broader demand for strong, independent institutional agencies to combat corruption. Although the government has introduced a Whistleblower’s Bill in Parliament, Team Anna points out that the redress mechanism it envisages relies on the same police systems that have thus far proved ineffective.