Medha meets Anna on third day of fast

On the third day of his indefinite hunger strike demanding passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday met Medha Patkar at the Yadavbaba Temple in Ralegan Siddi, the venue of his fast.

Speaking to the local media and the gradually swelling crowd at the hamlet, Patkar charged the Congress of being “indifferent” to the issue of corruption. She also said the party would have avoided the drubbing on the recent poll, had it passed the Lokpal Bill after the earlier agitations.

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, whom the television crew at the venue were expecting throughout the day, was absent. A new group surrounding the Gandhian which called itself “Team Anna”, and was led by previously unknown Santosh Bhartiya, started to castigate the AAP before the media.

As if to establish their credentials, the new “Team Anna” released the Gandhian’s reply to Arun Jaitley’s letter that subtly criticised him for his latest hunger strike. Anna said while he accepts that Parliament should be given due respect, he nonetheless reposes his faith on the Lokpal Bill.