Sonia pleads but Hazare not to give up as talks fail

His crusade against corruption triggering a virtual tsunami in India, social reformer Anna Hazare on Thursday vowed to fast until death even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged him to end the agitation saying his demands will get the government's 'full attention'.

Addressing thousands of young and old at the protest venue here, Anna Hazare, who began his fast pm Tuesday, said he would not eat till the government gave a role to the civil society in drafting a stringent Lokpal bill.

"My fast will continue till there is life in my body," he told a swelling crowd close to the Jantar Mantar in the heart of the city.

His assertion ignited emotive cries of 'Joh kabhi nahi haare, Woh Anna Hazare!' (One who never loses is Anna Hazare) and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai!'.

The venue was full of slogan shouting crowds pledging their support. Cries of 'Vande Mataram' and patriotic songs filled the air.

Anna Hazare's refusal to back off followed the failure of two rounds of talks Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal held with activists Arvind Kejriwal and Swami Agnivesh on Thursday.

The two points of disagreement were the legal status of the panel and who will head it. The government wants Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to lead it while activists want Anna Hazare.

"We had a very constructive dialogue. The broad parameters are generally agreed upon... We want Anna Hazare to give up the fast. We will be meeting tomorrow (Friday)," Sibal said.

By evening, Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, stepped in, pleading with the Gandhian to end his protest.

"I am pained by Anna Hazareji's fast unto death," she said in a statement. She promised that his demand for a war on corruption would be given 'full attention' by the government.

"There can be no two views on the urgent necessity on combating graft and corruption in public life," she added.

Anna Hazare thanked Gandhi and urged her to 'instruct her government to get this legislation passed as soon as possible'.

But the statement had no effect on Anna Hazare's resolve as he vowed to continue his campaign that has ignited solidarity rallies all over the country.

By evening, at least 300 people joined in fasting at Jantar Mantar.

In Agra and Delhi, people took out candlelight marches. Over 5,000 people gathered at India Gate to show support to the fasting Gandhian.

"We don't want any corrupt people in India," said Sheela Agarwal, 75. Four-year-old Shalini watched the rally with amazement on her father's shoulders.

Indians settled in foreign countries also took out protest marches to end corruption which is rampant in their native country.

But two days of fasting was beginning to tell on the 72-year-old social reformer.

Doctors said his blood pressure was slightly high and he had lost weight. But the feisty leader appeared unperturbed. He addressed the media and constantly waved to the sea of supporters.

But with the sun beating down, some fell unconscious. Doctors at the site quickly attended to them while some were taken to nearby hospital.

Anna Hazare asserted: "I am just a little weak, otherwise am fine... I can continue like this for at least another seven days." He sipped water frequently.

Political parties voiced support for Anna Hazare but he has refused to let them hijack his movement.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Prakash Javedakar said: "The BJP agrees with the essence of the demand and the Gandhian way of protest. That's why we have supported him."

BJP's Sushma Swaraj tweeted support and said: "We demand that the government should convene an all party meeting on the issue."

In Mumbai, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said the government was not scared of the fast but of the 'public anger' it has aroused.

Bollywood, which normally steers away from political issues, came out in support of Anna Hazare, an iconic figure in Maharashtra.

Hrithik Roshan tweeted: "I support Anna Hazare. Its TIME to make a CHANGE!"

Director Madhur Bhandarkar met Anna Hazare to tell him that the entire film industry supported his crusade.

Even Gopal Dass, who returned to India Thursday after spending 27 years in a Pakistani prison, told journalists at the border that India needed Anna Hazare.

"This India is not that of Mahatma Gandhi. This is the India of scams and corruption," he added.

Ahmedabad steps out in support of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement - AFP

Tendulkar, Muralitharan set for World Cup farewell

Praise and admiration rained down on Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan on Friday, as cricket's two most successful performers prepared to bring their World Cup careers to an end.

India opener Tendulkar, playing in his sixth and probably last World Cup, is desperate to capture the only piece of silverware missing from his record-breaking collection.

Added spice is provided by Saturday's final against Sri Lanka being played at his home Wankhede stadium in Mumbai where a century will make him the first batsman to score a hundred international centuries.

"If you bat with Sachin for 15 games you have the kind of experience you'd have after 50 games," said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in praise of a man who is just three weeks shy of his 38th birthday.

Dhoni, whose team reached the final by putting out champions Australia and Pakistan in the knockout rounds, added that India have still to hit top gear as they aim to become the first team to win the World Cup on home turf.

"There is plenty more to come from us. We gained momentum as the tournament went on and we are now peaking at the right time."

Muralitharan, the only member of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup winning squad still playing in the national team, will retire after Saturday, bringing down the curtain on a 19-year career, which has yielded 534 ODI wickets.

The off-spinner, who will celebrate his 39th birthday on April 17, is an injury doubt for Saturday's match after suffering a series of injuries throughout the tournament.

But with 15 wickets already to his name in this event, he is crucial to his team's chances and is just three wickets short of equalling Australian seamer Glenn McGrath's record of 71 World Cup victims.

"Murali's presence is always important. He's a big-match player, he's been amazing for us, so hopefully if he is fit he will take the field," said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

Both sides suffered injury setbacks on Friday.

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was ruled out with a side strain to be replaced in the squad by Suraj Randiv.

Indian left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra is also out having fractured the middle finger on his right hand in Wednesday's semi-final win over Pakistan.

"Ashish is most certainly out of the final because he has multiple fractures on a finger in the right hand," Dhoni said.

A massive security operation has been mounted for the final - the highest-profile sporting event to be held in Mumbai since the deadly 2008 militant attacks which left 166 people dead.

Although no specific threat has been made for the match between India and Sri Lanka, Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said he would prefer to take no chances with the safety of players and spectators.

"We will be overdoing it a bit," he admitted. "But it's better to be on the safe side. The stakes are high."

For the final, to be attended by Indian President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart, Mahinda Rajapakse, Patnaik said some 3,500 personnel will be deployed inside and outside the ground.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council insisted the tournament, which staged its first warm-up matches on February 12, had been a sporting and commercial success.

The first round took four weeks to complete only for the world's eight top-ranked teams to fill the eight places in the quarterfinals.

"The future of 50-over cricket seems assured after this fantastic tournament in which records have tumbled and TV ratings and attendances have exceeded expectations," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

"The final TV audience will exceed one billion."

The media in India and Sri Lanka were in a frenzy ahead of the final.

"Sri Lanka can!" said the Colombo-based ‘Daily FT’ in banner headlines. "Wishing the Sri Lankan team best of luck," the ‘Daily Mirror’ said. “Rally round team," urged the front-page headline in the state-run ‘Daily News’.

Cinemas and theatres said they were cancelling their Saturday evening shows as the entire country was expected to be watching the final on television.

Cricket clubs said they would set up giant television screens while bars said they were extending ‘happy hour’ to cover the entire duration of the match.

In India, the ‘Hindustan Times’ headlined its front page: "Now for the icing on the cake."