New Delhi: The government's crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his followers has had one unintended effect: It has united civil society groups till now bitterly divided over the direction and scope of the anti-corruption movement.

From Anna Hazare to Aruna Roy, civil society activists on Sunday buried their differences and spoke in one voice against the midnight police swoop, calling it draconian and undemocratic. Mr. Hazare threatened to follow up a day-long fast on June 8 with a second country-wide movement along the lines of the April 2011 Janatar Mantar protest. Ms. Roy's Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan said the right to protest was fundamental to functional democracy.

DMK today put up a brave face over Jayalalithaa government's decision to set up a commission of inquiry into alleged irregularities in construction of the Rs. 1000 crore new Legislative Assembly complex, saying facing such commissions was not new to the party.
"DMK has seen and faced many inquiry commissions. We are not bothered about this one and we are ready to face it," party's Legislature Leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, M K Stalin told reporters.
 The AIADMK government has announced a Commission of Inquiry under a retired High Court judge, saying, "There have been allegations of excess and wasteful expenditure and deficiency in the standards of new Secretariat building."

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supporters celebrated the 88th birthday of their leader, former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, here on Friday.

To mark the occasion, the youth wing of the DMK organised blood donation camps across the state, which received huge response.

"Protector of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi, is turning 88 today. On behalf of DMK state youth wing, we organized blood donation camp here. More than 200 student's wings, volunteers and other various functionaries came forward and donated blood," said M. Subramanian, Mayor of Chennai.

While paying homage to DMK founder and late Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai at his cremation site at Chennai, Karunanidhi urged party workers to work for the development of the state.