Anna Hazare to sit on indefinite fast for Jan Lokpal Bill from Tuesday

Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare said on Monday he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike for the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the ongoing winter session of the parliament.

Hazare would begin his strike on Tuesday in his hometown Ralegan Sidhi, Maharashtra.

Hazare said the government and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had promised to pass the bill.

"I will sit on an indefinite fast as we demand that the government should bring the public ombudsman bill (Jan Lokpal Bill) in the winter session of the parliament. As the country is suffering from corruption," Hazare said.

It was seen as a revolutionary anti-graft movement, which in 2011 not only drew tens of thousands of Indians united against corruption onto the streets, but also stopped parliamentary proceedings and dominated the headlines for days on end.

But 18 months on, India Against Corruption (IAC) - a popular movement led by a group of the country's prominent social activists - have split due to the decision by some members to move from activism into politics.

Hazare also said: "Congress has faced a defeat in all the four states in the assembly elections. There are several reasons behind it but the primary reason is that Congress has betrayed the people as the party had promised to bring the public ombudsman bill (Jan Lokpal Bill). Therefore, people have expressed their anger through their votes."

The IAC movement, launched in December 2010, marked the first time in India that both the poor and the middle classes were united against corruption in such large numbers.

Over the past year, India has been transfixed by a campaign led by Anna Hazare to force the government to create an ombudsman, which would prosecute corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

Hazare's initial hunger strike brought millions of sympathisers out on streets and forced the government into a series of humiliating U-turns.

But "Team Anna" had lost some steam. When Hazare launched his third hunger strike in Mumbai, just before the New Year, very few turned up and he had to call it off prematurely because he was ill.

Hazare said that miserable performance of the ruling Congress party was a result of backing out to bring the Lokpal bill.

However, many political experts believe that had the Congress brought the Jan Lokpal bill then they would have not failed so badly in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections nor would they have faced electoral drubbing in Goa and Punjab assembly polls.

India's image as an investment destination was dented over the past years as the economy slowed, government reforms stalled and the telecom scandals along with high profile graft cases heightened concerns about government policies.