Kejriwal, Rai to continue fast despite failing health

Rejecting doctors’ advice to be hospitalised due to their deteriorating health, Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai, who have been fasting since July 25, Tuesday said that they would sacrifice their lives for the nation.

Following the routine medical check-up of the four fasting leaders, doctors from Team Anna's medical team along with their colleagues from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital said Kejriwal and Rai were not in good condition.

"Condition of Anna Hazare and Manish Sisodia is stable but Kejriwal and Rai should get hospitalised," a doctor announced from the podium at Jantar Mantar.

Rai had been vomiting since Monday night and his pulse rate was very low while Kejriwal, who is diabetic, was also not keeping well.

"We are here to sacrifice our lives for our nation... not to get admitted in hospital.

Doctors are asking us to get hospitalised but we want to tell them that we are still powerful enough to kick off the government. And if government will try to interrupt, it will have to pay," said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal, Rai and Sisodia have been fasting since July 25 while Hazare joined them on Sunday. Along with them, 350 other supporters are also fasting for a stringent anti-graft Jan Lokpal bill. Around 20 of whom have been hospitalised till now.

Hazare and his team also apologized to the media for the scuffle late Monday night, asking their supporters to stay away from violence. Hazare even threatened to stop the protest if people continued to misbehave.

A fight broke out between Team Anna supporters and media persons around 10 p.m.

Monday at Jantar Mantar with protestors alleging that the media was not projecting their movement in the right light. The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) condemned the incident and demanded an apology from Team Anna.

"I apologise to the media on behalf of people who have misbehaved with them. I appeal to people not to get involved in such acts, else I would have to stop this protest," said the 75-year-old activist.

"I am pained by what happened Monday night. Our protest rests on non-violence and we don't have to indulge in violence or abuse," he added.

Kejriwal and Sisodia also tendered apologies, saying that the media had been a big supporter of their fight against corruption since it started 2011.

Around a thousand people turned up at Jantar Mantar on day seven of the Team Anna agitation.