Thousands march against corruption in Pune, Aurangabad

PUNE/AURANGABAD/MUMBAI - Marking the 63rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, thousands of people participated in a protest march against corruption in Pune and Aurangabad Sunday, an official said.

The march, that is taking place simultaneously in 60 cities across India, is part of an anti-graft campaign by civil society groups.

“In Pune, we have made it a ‘politics-free’ rally. All participants are volunteers from various fields and there is no celebrity participation,” said a volunteer.

The two hour rally in Pune started from Fergusson College gate and went to Sancheti Chowk, Bal Gangadhar Chowk and terminated at Sambhaji Park.

Eminent people like Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Justice Santosh Hegde, Aruna Roy, Arvind Kejriwal and many others came together and drafted an anti-corruption law which seeks to create an independent, empowered, transparent and accountable anti-corruption agency called Lokpal.

In Aurangabad, the rally saw many citizens, along with school and college students take part.

The march started from Kranti Chowk and terminated at Paithan Gate.

In Mumbai, the march is to witness an expected participation by nearly 10,000 people.

“This massive rally is being organised in order to put pressure on the government to enact a citizens draft bill, a spokesperson from the Mumbai organising committee said.

Large number of college students, professionals from the corporate sector, teachers, government employees, lawyers, doctors and others will participate in this march, he added.

Planning for this rally started as a small exercise sometime in mid-December. The rally was initially being planned only in Delhi. But once it was put up on the social networking site Facebook, it gained momentum, the spokesperson said.