Anna stays steadfast

MUMBAI: Defying the low crowd turnout, fever and political indifference, Anna Hazare’s resolve appeared unwavering as he sat on his fourth fast this year for a strong and independent Lokpal bill.
Announcing that he would continue to fight to the end, Hazare ignored repeated pleas by his supporters and other team members to give up his fast. By evening, Maharashtra chief minister Prithivraj Chavan had joined those who urged the veteran campaigner to call off his fast.Chavan cited the passage of the Lokpal bill in the Lok Sabha.
Hazare who was running a fever from Tuesday morning, said, “It is going to be a long-drawn battle. The agitation for a strong Lokpal is like the second war of independence and it has to be treated like that. We have to fight to the finish, even if we have to go to jail, we don’t care.’’
The 74-year-old activist’s precarious health and the tepid crowd response compounded the worry for Team Anna members. The anti-corruption crusader was nursing a sore throat as he lashed out at the government, accusing it of betraying the public. He also renewed his promise to campaign against the Congress not only in poll-bound states but also in the general elections in 2014. Reasoning that people’s power was stronger than that of Parliament, he said, “Dilli ki parliament ko laane wala hai jan Parliament.’’
His strong words were matched by a rather reconciliatory tone by Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. The disappointment at the tepid response in Mumbai—long considered the karma bhoomi for Anna—was obvious from the early hours of the day.
An indication of the softer tones was the fact that Kejriwal sought to “appeal’’ to Parliament to reject the government draft and accept a strong Lokpal bill. Both Kejriwal and Bedi also chose the public platform to appeal to Anna through the public to give up his fast keeping in view his failing health but Anna appeared determined to continue. However, India Against Corruption Mumbai unit in-charge Mayank Gandhi accused the government of shielding the corrupt.
Hazare, who has been suffering from cold and mild fever for the past three days, reached the grounds at around 12.30pm after a rally from Juhu. As the 74-year-old sat on fast at the MMRDA ground, the estimate of people at the venue varied between 10,000 and 15,000 in sharp contrast to the up to 30,000-40,000 that poured into Ramlila Maidan in August. Team Anna had said that they expected over a lakh people to turn up at the protest venue here. In Delhi too, a negligible number of protesters were at Ramlila Maidan.
Activist Medha Patkar said the movement wasn’t a number game. “Only politicians indulge in a number game. Just because there is a smaller crowd it doesn’t mean the movement is unsuccessful. We cannot expect the movement to always be steady,” said Patkar. Gandhi said the Ramlila grounds attracted bigger crowds in August due to Anna’s arrest. “This isn’t a disappointing number. We believe around16,000 have registered,” he said.
The Gandhian, meanwhile, asserted that the ambit of his agitation will soon be expanded to include radical electoral reforms like Right to Reject candidates. Seeking to broadbase his agitation, Hazare said he has invited Baba Ramdev to join his stir and the yoga guru will visit the fast venue on Wednesday or Thursday despite public differences between the two groups.
Signalling a symbolic start to the three-day fast, Hazare reached Juhu beach, to pay obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on Tuesday. But ironically, compared to the last Juhu beach rally which attracted 50,000 people in August,this rally elicited a lukewarm response.
Anna reached an hour late at Juhu beach, instead of the previously planned 9am scheduled by IAC. Manish Sisodia, core committee member of the IAC, said that Anna took some more time to rest at the PWD guesthouse in Bandra (east), as he ran a high fever after his arrival on Monday night. However, on Tuesday afternoon, after a thorough medical check-up, Anna had mild temperature (100 F), though his pulse rate and BP were stable. He was on antibiotics since the last three days. The moment Anna got out of the rest-house in Kalanagar, his convoy was greeted by a group of two dozen protesters waving black flags and shouting anti-Anna slogans. Surrounded by a posse of security personnel, Anna reached Juhu beach at 9.55am, where he meditated for 10 minutes. “I don’t see him as a Gandhi, but he follows Gandhian principles. He has urged the nation to fight without violence. As a youngster, this movement really struck a chord,” said Dipesh Tank (27) from Malad.
Later, flanked by Kejriwal, Bedi and Sisodia, the 74-year-old activist boarded a decorated open truck at 10.15am and slogans in his name started ringing the air. He then bowed to a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at Ramada Plaza Palm Grove in Juhu and proceeded towards MMRDA ground BKC. The truck, led by a group of bikers and cars, moved through the 15 km route to the protest venue.
All through the rally, a number of people spilled out and waited to greet him on the streets. Standing on an elevated platform in the truck, Anna avidly waved at the crowds. His convoy reached the ground at 12.15pm amid crowd cheers.
Many protesters blamed the poor turnout on the choice of the venue. Adman Bharat Dabholkar agreed: “It’s due to the bad venue, unlike Azad Maidan, which was easily accessible. We are expecting more crowds in the evening. Mumbai has to save its face.”
According to the IAC, about 16,000 people registered at MMRDA ground, 200 people sat on a fast with Anna and the overall crowd was around 30,000 people. There was a flurry of activity when celebrities including Anupam Kher, Pritish Nandy, Vishal Dadlani, Priya Gill, visited the MMRDA ground to lend support to the cause. Kher said, “I am concerned as a citizen about corruption. Forget the numbers present here. This is not a cricket match between India and Pakistan.”