Protests swelled across India today in support of a self-styled Gandhian anti-corruption campaigner fasting to the death in jail as Prime Minister Manmohan's Singh's beleaguered government appears unable to end the standoff.
An uncompromising Mr Singh (78), who is widely criticised as out of touch, dismissed the fast by Anna Hazare demanding tougher laws as "totally misconceived", sparking outrage as lawmakers cried "shame".
"It is a wake-up call for all of us unless we put our house in order. The people of this country are becoming restless," said Arun Jaitley, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mr Hazare (74) fasted today as thousands of his followers gathered outside the jail, the latest development in a crisis that saw him arrested yesterday and then refuse to leave jail after the government ordered his release.
Mr Hazare, who has struck a nerve with millions of Indians by demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption in India, insists he wants the right to return to a city park, where he had originally planned to publicly fast, before he leaves jail.
The arrest and sudden about-turn to release him appeared to confirm a widespread feeling Mr Singh's government is cornered, clumsy and too riddled with corruption scandals to govern Asia's third-largest economy effectively.
"Corrupt, repressive and stupid," was the verdict of The Hindu newspaper. "Anna has the government fumbling," was the headline of the Mail Today.
Protests spread in support of Mr Hazare, a long-time social activist who dresses in a trademark white kurta, white cap and spectacles in the style of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
In northeast Assam state, thousands of farmers, students and lawyers marched. In the financial capital of Mumbai, 500 people carrying the Indian flag and wearing Gandhi caps chanted "I am Anna". In the IT hub of Hyderabad, lawyers boycotted courts, students skipped class and hundreds took to the streets.
Across southern Andhra Pradesh state, a Congress party stronghold, thousands went on snap fasts, staged sit-ins, blocked roads and formed human chains.
Demonstrations are part of daily life in the towns and cities of India, a country of 1.2 billion people made up of a myriad of castes, religions and classes. But spontaneous and widespread protests are rare, and the scale of this week's outpouring of public fury has taken the government by surprise.
However, Mr Singh was uncompromising in a speech to parliament as opposition lawmakers tried to shout him down.
"I acknowledge that Anna Hazare may be inspired by high ideals," Mr Singh said. "However, the path that he has chosen to impose a draft of the bill on parliament is totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for our parliamentary democracy.
"We must not create an environment in which our economic progress is hijacked by internal dissention."
Reuters