More than 5,00,000 protestors took to the streets in Romania on Sunday seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu over a controversial corruption Bill, which sought to protect politicians from legal action for graft. Although the government has repealed the legislation, protests continue across the country, reported BBC.

Even as the Grindeanu government withdrew the Bill on Sunday, protestors believe that the administration is likely to redraft the Bill and table it in Parliament. Protests erupted in the Capital city of Bucharest on Tuesday when the decree was passed. It was supposed to be in effect from February 10. “This government is organised from the high level to the low like a mafia, and we don’t want something like this,” a protester, Profira Popo, told the AP.

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While introducing the Bill, the left-wing government had said that the law was required to reduce overcrowding in prisons. The protestors have pointed out that several government officials facing corruption charges would be the direct beneficiaries of the proposed law. The constitutional court will rule on the legality of the original Bill later this week.

Protests were held in Cluj, Timisoara, Craiova, Ploiesti and even in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. Cluj Court Judge Cristi Danilet, a former member of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, said the proposed law would facilitate future abuses and “create the possibility of issuing racist legislation”.

The anti-government protests were the largest of its kind since the 1989 revolution that marked the end of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. “This fight is different than 1989 — no bullets, no casualties. It’s a moral fight. But it’s almost as important. That fight was... with death and suffering. This is a fight for hope,” said gymnasium owner Cornel Sain, 53, a protestor.