Hazare not to attend anti-corruption rallies in UP

"As the doctors have advised Anna Hazare to take rest for a week due to osteoarthritis, he will not be participating in the rallies scheduled in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow," spokesperson Vibhav told PTI over phone.

He, however, said Hazare would address the meetings over phone.

Personal assistant of the social activist Suresh Pathare also confirmed Hazare's absence from the rallies and refuted reports that he will travel from Pune to Delhi to attend a meeting of Jan Lokpal Bill committee on May 2.

As per earlier schedule, the anti-corruption crusader was planned to address rallies in Varanasi (April 29) and Sultanpur (April 30) and Lucknow (May 1).

Vibhav, however, said Hazare's absence would not affect the schedule of rallies and his associates Arvind Kejariwal, Swami Agnivesh, P D Rajgopal, Kumar Vishwas, Prakash Singh and Jaspal Bhatti would attend the programme.