Protests over corruption in India continue

India's government is working to end an eight-day protest fast by a popular activist, and called for all the parties in Parliament to debate his demands for stringent anti-corruption legislation.

Anna Hazare's hunger strike has drawn tens of thousands of supporters to his protest in the heart of the capital and inspired smaller rallies across India.

“There has been a wide ranging support for the demand of Anna Hazare to have a stronger version of this legislation,” says Father Babu Joseph, the Spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. “Having said that, there are also problems regarding the particular method they have resorted to in order to force the government to have this particular version.”

He explained to Vatican Radio the protestors are trying to bypass normal parliamentary procedure in order to pass the legislation more quickly.

“That is one of the serious reasons some have voiced concern… the precedent we are going to create in the legislative history of India,” he said. “But the Church in India, and large sections of Indian society, certainly support the cause for which Anna Hazare has been agitating – namely to, if not eliminate altogether, at least minimize the level of corruption in government departments.”

Listen to the full interview by Charles Collins with Fr. Babu Joseph: