A popular anti-corruption crusader held a day-long fast in the Indian capital on Sunday, urging supporters to court arrest and "fill up prisons" nationwide if the beleaguered government failed to enact a tougher law to fight graft. The spectre of renewed protests led by the bespectacled Gandhian campaigner Anna Hazare come at a difficult time for Prime Minister Singh, who is increasingly seen as a lame duck at the half-way stage of his second five-year term.
Last week, at risk of losing key partners from the ruling coalition, Singh backtracked on a flagship reform to allow foreign investment in supermarkets. Dressed in a crisp white kurta smock and cap, Hazare told hundreds of supporters that a draft legislation setting up a Lokpal (ombudsman) to investigate wrong-doing in government was a "betrayal."
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