Anna breaks vow of silence at Rajghat

Activist Anna Hazare broke his 'maun vrat' Friday at Rajghat after nearly three weeks of silence and is expected to attend a meeting of the standing committee on the Lokpal bill, an India Against Corruption (IAC) member said.

"Bharat Mata ki jai," Hazare said after paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial, according to the IAC member.

"Hazare visited Gandhi's memorial around 7 a.m. today (Friday) morning and broke his maun vrat," the activist told IANS.

Hazare, 74, had started his vow of silence Oct 16 and since then he was putting forward his views through his blog or writings that were then read out by his aides.

"Annaji had reached Delhi Thursday night and is likely to attend a meeting of the standing committee on the Lokpal bill," the member said.

Hazare has threatened to launch another hunger strike if the Lokpal bill is not passed in the winter session of parliament beginning later this month.