'As long as I live I will live for this country, and when I die, I will die for this country'

Refusing to call off his fast until the three sticking points between the government and Team Anna have been resolved, Anna said that he had been betrayed by the government twice before and would not be betrayed again. “I will only break my fast if the government gives me a written assurance that they will debate, discuss and agree on our three demands in parliament”, he said, addressing cheering crowds at the Ramlila Maidan. [caption id=“attachment_69590” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Anna refused to call off his fast until the three sticking points are resolved. PTI”]  [/caption] The three sticking points between the two sides are the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy, The inclusion of Lokayuktas and immediate discussion of the Jan Lokpal bill in Parliament. Anna in fact said that he had already asked government negotiator Vilasrao Deshmukh to tell the Prime Minister to start discussions on the Jan Lokpal in parliament immediately. “I will continue my fast for as long as I have life in my body. As long as I live, I will live for this country, and when I die, I will die for this country”, he said. Responding to the Prime Minister’s and the Lok Sabha’s appeal for him to call off his fast, Hazare thanked the MP’s for their concern, but warned supporters that this could simply be a delaying tactic on the part of the Parliament. He also hit out at the opposition, asking them why they had remained silent on the Jan Lokpal bill thus far. Hazare also said that even though his team had been given permission to use the Ramlila Maidan till 3 September, they should be allowed to use it for as long as it took for Parliament to pass the Jan Lokpal bill. He told crowds to continue protesting with or without him, saying that he would continue to protest even if he was forcibly given a drip or hospitalized. He then beseeched crowds to ‘fill the jails’ and surround MP’s houses if the Jan Lokpal was not passed and a consensus on the three sticking points was not reached. Anna said the evils of corruption had caused strife to the poor and to the farmers, and said that India was forced to take foreign loans to aid development because all the nations wealth was being spent on cars and bungalows for MP’s.