New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Opposition parties here Thursday demanded that the government clarify what were the "foreign forces" it alleged to be behind Anna Hazare's movement against corruption.


"Congress statement in not only bad but mad," Bharatiya Janata Party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside parliament.

In his statement on Hazare's arrest, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said: "There are many forces that would not like to see India realize its true place in the comity of nations. We must not play into their hand."

"The prime minister should tell what he meant by it," Naidu added.

On the same lines, Communist Party of India member D. Raja said: "What are the forces which are trying to hinder our growth, he (prime minister) should clarify."

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi also had Wednesday raised doubts about "foreign hands" being behind Hazare's demand for a stronger Lokpal Bill.

"We will have to find out the truth, why the US is supporting this movement," Alvi had said.

Hazare planned to begin his fast for the Jan Lokpal bill here Tuesday. However, Delhi Police imposed certain conditions before allowing the protest. Hazare refused to sign the undertaking, following which the police detained him and his other team members Tuesday.

He was arrested and subsequently released but refused to leave the jail. But now he will begin his 15-day-long fast at Ramlila ground here as his conditions have been met.