New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has scheduled an emergency meeting of the cabinet Committee on Political Affairs in Parliament House at 10.15 a.m. Tuesday following the detention of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in the morning.


The meeting will take stock of the situation arising out of Hazare's detention by the Delhi Police early morning, hours before he was set to proceed on an indefinite fast demanding a stronger Lokpal Bill to deal with the corrupt.

Others scheduled to attend the meeting include Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, officials in Prime Minister's Office said.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi are also scheduled to attend the meeting, they added.

Hazare, 74, had announced Sunday he would proceed with his indefinite fast at the Jai Prakash Narain Park near Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium close to the old quarters of the city. The Delhi Police had imposed prohibitory orders there.

He was detained along with some 250 of his supporters including activist Arvind Kejriwal and former top cop Kiran Bedi. Some of them were taken into custody from other places in the city.

"Don't let my arrest stop this movement. This is the nation's second struggle for freedom. The entire world has come to know how deep rooted corruption is," Hazare had said in a statement, minutes before his detention.

"I appeal to you that let there be no violence in this movement. I also appeal to you, young and old alike, to give eight days of your life to the nation - if necessary for a jail bharo andolan (fill the jails campaign)."

His supporters, who were detailed from various places, described the police action as unconstitutional.