Indian opposition leader on anti-graft road trip

NEW DELHI, Oct 12 (AFP): India's 84-year-old opposition leader LK Advani set off on a five-week road trip across the country Tuesday in a protest he said would put pressure on the government to tackle corruption. The leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who began his 7,600-kilometre (4,700-mile) journey in the impoverished state of Bihar, plans to cover 27 of India's 35 states and federal territories over 38 days. Advani, who is travelling on a converted bus with an electronic power lift from which he gives speeches, has been coy over whether he still has ambitions to be prime minister. His party performed poorly in 2009 general elections, but he hopes for a BJP revival at state elections next year due to a weak Congress-led government that has been hit by a series of major corruption scandals. "There is anarchy in the country today because of rampant corruption," Advani said as he started his journey in Sitabdiara, the birthplace of Indian socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan. "I want to awaken the consciousness of the common man through my campaign. The only agenda I have is to fight corruption," he said. Corruption has become a hot issue in Indian politics, with huge nationwide anti-graft protests in August triggered by activist Anna Hazare's hunger strike in New Delhi. But Advani's ability to tap into a similar vein of public support is uncertain, and the beginning of his journey attracted only limited media attention. Advani shot to fame in 1991 by undertaking a road trip through northern India to promote the building of a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque. The mosque was demolished by Hindu fanatics the next year, sparking deadly riots. Advani has always denied encouraging the demolition.