NEW DELHI (AFP) – A veteran Indian activist on Thursday threatened to launch another protest against corruption, accusing the government of trying to scuttle a proposed anti-graft bill.

The 73-year-old Anna Hazare's threat came four days after Swami Ramdev, a celebrity TV yoga guru, called off an eight-day fast against graft.
“The government made empty promises and then turned their back on us and we are now ready to start our protest again and go back to our agitation,” Hazare told a news conference in New Delhi.
“We have an example before us of Baba Ramdev whose peaceful protest was disrupted,” he said.
“But we are not worried. We are ready to face even bullets,” the activist added.
In April, Hazare's 98-hour hunger strike against corruption gained widespread national support and won concessions from the government over the drafting of an anti-corruption law.
The government mocked Hazare's latest threat.
“Drafting a bill is a complex exercise that requires patience, discussions and even give-and-take. I don't think anywhere in the world fasting is a way to draft a bill,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram told a separate news conference.
Chidambaram also rejected the social activist's charges that the government was backtracking on its promises on forging the new law.
“We hope they will work with us in drafting the bill and if they choose not to then we will draft it ourselves,” the home minister added.
Hunger strikes, a traditional Indian protest, have become a focus of resentment over the corruption that plagues all levels of life in India, from massive government contracts to small daily bribes.
Ramdev drew tens of thousands of supporters to his own anti-graft hunger strike in New Delhi until police moved in to break up the demonstration on June 4, saying it was illegal.
Police wielding sticks cleared Ramdev's protest, leaving scores of his supporters injured.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sharply criticized for the crackdown, but he said the police had no choice.
Ramdev, whose daily television show is watched by millions, has also vowed to launch protests around the country against corruption.
Home minister Chidambaram said the option remained open to bring the country's prime minister within the ambit of the proposed law.