No permission yet to Team Anna to protest: MCD

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Monday said Anna Hazare and his team members would have to first produce a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from police before they are allowed to hold a protest at Ramlila Ground from December 27 to January 5.

"We have received an application from Team Anna to book the Ramlila Ground December 27 to January 5. There are no previous bookings for the ground on those dates, so they can hold the protest. But before we give the permission, they should get a NoC from police," MCD spokesperson Yogendra Singh Mann told IANS.

Earlier, a spokesperson for India Against Corruption (IAC) said the MCD has given the go-ahead to Hazare and his associates to stage a demonstration at Ramlila ground December 27 to January 5.

Anna Hazare is planning to hold a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar Dec 11 if the parliamentary panel examining the Lokpal bill does not come up with recommendations for a strong anti-graft ombudsman, an activist said Monday.

"If the standing committee does not give recommendations for a strong Lokpal, Anna will sit on a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar Dec 11 with other civil society activists," a Team Anna member told IANS.

The standing committee is expected to submit its recommendations to parliament Dec 7 during the ongoing winter session. The government will be able to introduce the Lokpal bill only after that.

The winter session is slated to end Dec 21.

"We have approached Delhi Police, seeking permission for the day-long protest at Jantar Mantar on Dec 11, as well as the Ramlila Ground agitation from Dec 27 to Jan 5," Aswathi Muralidharan, spokesperson for India Against Corruption (IAC) said.

The volunteers of Team Anna staged a silent protest at India Gate Monday asking government to pass a strong Lokpal Bill.

IAC is the the umbrella organisation of Hazare's anti-graft campaign.

The 74 year old anti-corruption activist was on a 12-day hunger strike in August this year demanding the government enact a strong law to deal with corruption in India.