Making it clear that his dharna at the Ramlila Maidan here would not end even after he calls off his indefinite fast, Anna, during his evening speech, declared that the protest will continue till other demands are met by the government.
According to insiders, Team Anna was expecting the BJP and other opposition parties to support the Jan Lokpal bill in the all-party meet held on Wednesday. However, the opposition failed to meet their expectations causing a heartburn to Anna’s team.
“Why are you keeping quiet? You should say that we will support this bill and ask the government to bring it. But now everyone has joined hands because they fear that power will slip out of their hands,” said the Gandhian.
Anna reacted sharply against the entire political class and alleged that they were spending public money on their comforts and the nation was forced to take loans for its development. Embittered by the ups and downs in the dialogue between the government and the India Against Corruption, he questioned the concern of the prime minister towards his health and asked, “You say, you are worried. Now, he is saying that we are worried but for ten days you were not worried. It went on like this.”
‘Fast will end, not dharna’
In the event of a Parliament resolution on Friday accepting his three demands— bringing entire bureaucracy under the purview of Lokpal, appointing Lokayukta in states and making citizen’s charter – Hazare will end his fast, but he is to continue his dharna till other demands of Jan Lokpal bill are met. The Gandhian made it clear that dharna will continue at the protest venue even after he ends his fast.
“We have the permission for this ground till September 3, so we can continue till then. Dharna will go on after that also.
There should be court arrests and demonstrations before MPs’ houses across the country,” Anna told to his supporters.
“I have sent a message to the prime minister. If you want to pass Jan Lokpal bill then start discussion tomorrow morning. I have three demands. If there is support (for them), then I can consider ending the fast,” the veteran social activist said.
Timeline
9-30 a.m. Team Anna blames elements in government and Congress internal politics for impasse in dialogue.
10-15 a.m. Doctors do a check-up on Hazare, Dr Naresh Trehan says that blood pressure and heart beat of Gandhian are stable
10-30 a.m. Finance Minister and Leader of House in Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee tells Congress MPs that Team Anna is trying to hijack parliamentary process to enact laws
11-10 a.m. In response to a query from Leader of Opposition and BJP heavyweight Sushma Swaraj, Mukherjee tells Lok Sabha that his comments were distorted
11-20 a.m. Law Minister Salman Khurshid says government doors wide open for discussion.
11-30 a.m. Hazare tells supporters in Ramlila Maidan: “I am sure I will not die till we get Jan Lokpal Bill passed by Parliament. There is nothing to worry about my health.”
11-40 a.m. Rahul Gandhi says he is very concerned over the logjam over Lokpal Bill
11-45 a.m. Team Anna calls for protest demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's residence at 7 Race Course Road in Delhi from 5 pm.
12-25 p.m. Leader of Opposition joins PM to appeal to Hazare to end his fast
12-28 p.m. LS Speaker Meira Kumar rises and calls upon Hazare on behalf of the House to end his fast.
1-20 p.m. Mukherjee says he hopes Hazare would end his fast in response to the PM’s appeal
1-40 p.m. Team Anna gives a call to people across the country to peacefully march towards the national capital from Saturday if the Government fails to resolve the Lokpal issue.
1-45 p.m. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari regrets his remarks against Hazare.
3-00 p.m. Union Minister and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh meets Hazare to formally convey PM’s appeal to end fast
3-30 p.m. Key members of Team Anna meet to consider PM's fresh offer
3-40 p.m. Delhi Metro closes four stations around PM's residence in Delhi to foil Hazare supporters’ plan to stage protest
4-15 p.m. Hazare aide says Gandhian wrote to PM and letter dispatched through Deshmukh
4-30 p.m. Protesters demanding strong Lokpal detained near PM residence.
4-45 p.m. Hazare says discussion should start on Jan Lokpal Bill from Friday in Parliament
5-00 p.m. PM holds a meeting with Mukherjee and other senior Union Ministers
5-10 p.m. Hazare says he will end fast, not protest, if the Government agrees on his three demands – citizen's charter, lokayuktas in all states with Lokpal powers and inclusion of lowest to highest bureaucracy.
5-20 p.m. BJP slams UPA for its handling of Hazare's movement
5-30 p.m. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal starts exploring options to hold discussions on different versions of Lokpal Bill in Parliament on Friday
8-00 p.m. Mukherjee meets senior ministers on Lokpal
9-30 p.m. Deshmukh confirms Government is working out modalities for a discussion on the salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament on Friday-
