JOIN USNation chants Anna, support swells
With all patriotic fervour, hundreds of people from various walks of life made a beeline to Janakpuri area in West Delhi from different locations in the national capital and virtually kept the highly-secured prison under seige throughout the day, relentlessly waiting outside to see Anna Hazare coming out. The crowd, mostly dominated by teenagers and the youth, comprised many elderly people and families too.
Young boys and girls in various groups chanted patriotic slogans and sang songs. “If I miss my class for a day or even a week, it is not going to make any big difference. But, had I had not come here to stand in support of Anna, it would have been a big mistake.
Anna is struggling for each of us and it is our duty to be with him,” Shiva said, waiving the tri-colour that he had held in his hand.
Shiva’s other friends, who were clad in school uniform, echoed similar views. “Our entire system is corrupt. Let Anna continue with his agitation. He can bring a drastic change in the current situation,” Prantik Arora said, while rushing to join another school students’ group raising anti-government slogans nearby.
People blocked each of the prison gate, anticipating the arrival of Anna from inside.
They shouted slogans, waved the national flag and demanded the passing of the Jan Lokpal bill.Several banners conveyed the anger felt by Anna supporters, especially towards the manner in which he was picked up by police from Mayur Vihar on Tuesday morning.
‘Govt will fall’
R K Bhardwaj, a resident of Noida and a businessman, said, “The UPA government is set to see a miserable fall now. They have been doing mistakes after mistakes. Now they have done a blunder by arresting Anna in order to fizzle out his movement.”
“It (Anna’s movement) appears to be advancing just like the JP Movement. People had come out on street against the then government just like this,” Manjit Singh, a resident of the C-block Janakpuri said.
Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar visited Tihar Jail to rally support for Anna. Yoga guru Ramdev and the Art of Living Foundation head Sri Sri Ravishankar on Wednesday joined the protest launched by Gandhian Anna Hazare that has put the UPA government in a fix. Later in the evening, Anna supporters held candle light vigil in large numbers at India Gate.