Hazare breaks fast after govt assurance

Social activist Anna Hazare yesterday called off his hunger strike after the central government “in principle” agreed to his demands but refrained from providing a roadmap on the implementation in a time-bound manner.Hazare, who had earlier demanded the timeline along with the action plan, said the Narendra Modi government assured him that promises would be fulfilled “soon” even as he warned the government of another agitation if the action is not taken in the six months’ time.A delegation of ministers led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Hazare yesterday evening and informed him that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was “positive” about the demands of setting up of a Lokpal at the centre and Lokayuktas in the states, implementation of the M S Swaminathan Committee report for fair crop prices and new electoral reforms.Subsequently, Hazare broke his seven-day long fast with a glass of juice in the presence of Fadnavis, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan among others.“The government has agreed to give 1.5 times the input cost (for agricultural produce). Also, government has said the Lokpal would be appointed soon. It says the electoral reforms come under the election commission’s jurisdiction,” Hazare told the gathering of around 3,000 protesters at the iconic Ramlila Maidan.“The government has said that the promises would be fulfilled soon. I will wait for six months. If the government fails to do it till then, I will start agitation in September. However, Fadnavis says it will not even take six months. Let us see.”Fadnavis said the Prime Minister’s Office had in letter to Hazare conveyed which components would be considered while fixing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agriculture produce.