New Delhi:
Anna Hazare is expected to leave Tihar Jail soon, flanked by core members of his team, and head to the venue where he will continue his fast as planned, surrounded by thousands of supporters.
Hectic negotiations are on right now between Team Anna and the government in the bid to find a compromise solution to the Anna-in-jail crisis. The talks are centred around how many days Anna will be allowed to fast for at a public venue - the Gandhian activist has steadfastly refused to agree to a stipulation. Sources say, the police have offered him the Ramlila grounds as a venue for 15 days and have said they will assess the situation on a day-to-day-basis. Team Anna says they have been offered five days and that is not acceptable to Mr Hazare and that he will stay in Tihar till the government accepts his demand.
Sources say the police have also offered the Ramlila grounds as an alternative to JP Park, where Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed, for its size and security. The police, sources say, have relented on several points and will allow more people to gather at the site of Anna's fast. The use of loudspeakers will also be allowed as per Supreme Court guidelines, the sources said.
The 74-year-old activist is meeting with close aides in jail, where he was brought last evening. He has neither eaten nor had any water since yesterday morning. Doctors examined him last night at Tihar Jail. The police delivered Mr Hazare's release warrant last night, permitting him to leave jail. He refused, stating that he wanted a guarantee that he would not be asked to confine either his hunger fast or the number of his supporters to limits prescribed by the government.
The decision to arrest him - taken by the Delhi Police, stress senior ministers - has delivered a huge body blow to a government already battered by financial scandals and the perception that those who're running the country are out of sync with the people. "We are not worried, we will find a way out of this", said the Prime Minister outside his home this afternoon.
But it's obvious that the government is floundering in the midst of this latest crisis which has escalated Mr Hazare to a new level of stardom. "Has the government lost all statecraft to handle a political crisis," said Opposition leader Arun Jaitley in Parliament today in reaction to the Prime Minister's statement on Mr Hazare's baffling arrest. Dr Manmohan Singh was forced to address both Houses about Mr Hazare after a united Opposition said it would not let Parliament function till he shared his government's reasoning for forbidding Mr Hazare from a peaceful protest at JP Park.
(Read: BJP rips apart PM's statement on Anna Hazare)Dr Singh said the Delhi Police had no choice but to arrest Mr Hazare and his closest aides. The police, he said, had permitted Team Anna's demonstration, but the activists rejected six of the 22 conditions deemed necessary for law and order. Mr Jaitley said that the government "can't impose conditions which render a protest redundant." The PM will reply to the debate this evening.
(Read: PM makes statement on Anna Hazare's arrest) |
(Forum: What do you think of PM's statement?)Earlier in the morning, Home Secretary RK Singh said, "Anna Hazare is free to go wherever he wants to go and Delhi Police is talking to him...Delhi Police will take a decision on whether Hazare will be allowed to hold a protest at JP Park." The government could not seem to stress enough that it did not want Anna in jail.
Activists Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh have announced to the supporters outside Tihar Jail that Mr Hazare will come out of the prison "any time now." Swami Agnivesh said, "The government has bowed down. We will have to be prepared to go to JP Park in a peaceful manner."
There is a charged atmosphere outside Tihar Jail, all eyes fixed on the gate that Anna Hazare will reportedly emerge from. For hours, supporters raised slogans in support of Mr Hazare and sang songs and bhajans. But they have fallen silent now in wait for the moment when Anna Hazare walks out.
(Top surfer comments on Anna Hazare)Many supporters camped outside the jail overnight to show solidarity with Anna's cause; many more have been gathering there since early morning, as they have been at Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi, which was deemed "jail" by Delhi Police yesterday to hold the over 1000 anti-corruption protesters detained in the Capital. Yoga teacher and anti-corruption activist Baba Ramdev too has reached Tihar after he met the President some time ago to submit a memorandum against Anna's arrest.
Inside the massive Tihar complex, Anna Hazare slept on the ground on a chaddar (sheet) in one of the administrative buildings. With him was his close aide Arvind Kejriwal. Anna reportedly woke up at about 5 am and held discussions with Mr Kejriwal and other aides. Mr Hazare is fasting in jail and sources say no one from the government has asked him directly to end the fast. In fact, the sources said, all government communication to Anna Hazare, requesting him to leave jail since last evening, has been through the Delhi Police.