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LOKPAL PROTESTS |
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Anna Hazare stays put in jail, says will leave only if allowed to fast unconditionally
Govt, Delhi Police in a fix as protests gather steam outside Tihar; inmates skip meals, while Anna and Co. refuse to budge on demands
Arpit Parashar
New Delhi
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Supporters and protesters outside the Tihar Jail gates to welcome Anna Hazare.
Photo: Soumik Mukherjee |
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Anna Hazare’s conditions for his release have put the Delhi police and the Government of India in a position from which they might not be able to recover in a hurry. Hazare has said that he will continue his fast against the Government’s Lokpal Bill at the Jai Prakash Narain Park in the national capital even after his release and demanded a written assurance on the same from the Delhi Police. All attempts of the Delhi Police officials to convince him and his team otherwise have failed till now.
Talks between the police officials and members of the civil society and the group India Against Corruption have been stuck as Hazare has demanded that he be released unconditionally. Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, Kiran Bedi, Medha Patkar and lawyer Prashant Bhushan are all present at the visitors’ hall in the jail along with Anna Hazare. While Hazare and his team are adamant on continuing the protest and fast at the JPN Park, the police have proposed Ramlila Maidan as a possible venue. Hazare has also not committed to a particular time period for the fast. The police sources said they might allow Hazare to stay in the Capital for a week if he agrees to fast at the Ramlila Maidan.
However, Hazare’s aide Manish Sisodia, who came out of the jail last night, said Hazare has told the jail authorities that he will not leave the premises until the police tell him the status of his application for launching a hunger strike at the JPN Park. “He told them very clearly that he wants to sit and fast there with his followers,” he said.
The Government of India meanwhile said that Hazare was free to go wherever he wants to and that Delhi Police will take a decision on whether he will be allowed to hold protest at JPN Park. Union Home Secretary RK Singh said: “He (Hazare) is in the office of the DIG, Tihar Jail. He rested at night and he and his supporters have been given a hall... I am quite sure that Delhi Police officers have been talking to him.”
“He has been released. He can go wherever he wants, he is free and officers from Delhi Police ask him where he wants to go,” Singh said. On Anna’s demand to protest at JPN Park, the Home Secretary deflected the issue on to the Delhi Police and said they will take the final call on the issue.
After deciding to release him on Tuesday night in order to prevent a law and order situation, the Delhi police had decided to send Hazare back to his village. The police told Hazare he could fast for three days at the park as agreed initially or else he was told that he will be taken to his village. A prisoner released from the jail gets a travel warrant stamp on his arm that allows him to travel free up to his home village or town by bus and train. However, in case of Hazare, the police wanted to fly him by a regular flight to Pune and then take him to his village.
The police was unable to persuade Anna to go back to his village and the jail superintendent had to make special arrangements to allow Hazare to spend the night. He spent the night in the administrative block of the jail along Arvind Kejriwal. However, he refused to take food for the second day now. There is no deterioration in his health condition till now, said jail sources. Interestingly, a few hundred inmates at the jail also decided to fast to express their support for Hazare.
The jail manual does not allow the jail authorities to keep any person in jail after receiving his release warrant and hence the police are puzzled about what they should do now. Hazare was shifted to the ‘Deodi’, which is the jail office between the outer and inside gates, meant for stationing the prisoners until they are admitted in the jail or taken out to be released or for going to court or hospital. As of now Hazare is officially only a visitor and not a prisoner anymore, jail sources said.
Sources in the Delhi police said they will try to break the stalemate in talks with Hazare and his team as soon as possible and make sure he does not have to spend another night at the jail.
Protesters and supporters of Hazare gathered outside the Tihar jail in many hundreds since Wednesday morning demanding his unconditional release. All the entry gates of the jail were swarmed and large numbers of police personnel were deployed to man them. Hazare's supporters shouted slogans against HRD Minister Kapil Sibal last night but were then told that he has given ‘strict instructions’ not to raise any slogans against any person or party.
People from all kinds of backgrounds joined the protesters outside the jail. Some even took off from work and colleges and schools to join the movement. Many people were seen driving around the area in cars and jeeps waving flags and expressing support to Anna Hazare. Not everyone, however, was aware why the protest was going on. Jatinder Singh Virk, who drove down in his jeep along with his friends, shouting slogans supporting Hazare, thought Hazare was protesting against land acquisition.
Meanwhile, Yoga guru Ramdev also joined the protest and met Hazare inside the jail in the afternoon. He called on the people to support Hazare irrespective of ideological and political background. Art of Living guru Sri Sri Ravishankar also met Hazare at the jail premises.
Arpit Parashar is Senior Correspondent with Tehelka.com.
arpit.parashar@tehelka.com
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