India's prime minister struggles to cope as hunger strike fuels protests

And prime minister Manmohan Singh has been left struggling how to deal with Anna Hazare's demands.

Yesterday Mr Singh, 78, was shouted down by MPs, who called out "shame" when he described Mr Hazare's protest as "totally misconceived".

"It is a wake-up call for all of us unless we put our house in order. The people of this country are becoming restless," said Arun Jaitley, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr Hazare, 74, fasted as thousands of his followers gathered outside the New Delhi jail where he was taken on Tuesday and which he has since refused to leave after Mr Singh ordered his release. Spurred by messages on social network sites, at least 15,000 thronged to one protest in central Delhi yesterday

Mr Hazare is demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption and insists he wants the right to return to a city park where he had planned to publicly fast, before he will emerge from the jailhouse.

His arrest and the decision to let him go has added to the growing belief that Mr Singh's government is in a corner and too scandal-ridden to govern a country of more than a billion people.

A weak opposition means the government should still survive the crisis, but it could further dim the prospect for economic reforms held back by corruption scandals.

"We don't have faith in our government," said Sujeet, a young software engineer from the IT city of Gurgaon, as he protested at tourist site of India Gate in the capital. "We are living in a democracy but only in letter, not in spirit."

Many of the crowd were young, with rucksacks on their backs, some with their faces painted. Others were older, decked out in outfits as worn by the bespectacled Mr Hazare, with his trademark white cap and kurta, a long-time social activist often compared to independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

In north-east Assam state, thousands of farmers, students and lawyers marched. In the financial capital of Mumbai, thousands of people carrying the Indian flag and wearing Gandhi caps chanted "I am Anna".

"I was forced to pay a bribe while getting my passport approved and I felt helpless," said student Rahul Acharya, 21. "This is the time all youngsters should join the movement so that the future would be corruption-free."

In the IT hub of Hyderabad, lawyers boycotted courts, students skipped class and hundreds took to the streets. Across southern Andhra Pradesh state, a Congress party stronghold, thousands went on fasts, staged sit-ins, blocked roads and formed human chains. Mr Hazare first went on hunger strike in April. He called off that fast after the Congress party government promised a bill creating an anti-corruption ombudsman.The legislation was presented in early August, but activists slammed the draft version as toothless because the prime minister and judges were exempt from probes.

Mr Singh told MPs yesterday: "I acknowledge that Anna Hazare may be inspired by high ideals. However, the path that he has chosen to impose a draft of the bill on parliament is totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for our parliamentary democracy.

Critics say Mr Singh's government of mainly elderly politicians has no idea how to react to protests, highlighting a generation gap as social networks galvanise a growing middle class.