New Delhi:
It's the ninth day of the hunger strike by members of Team Anna at the capital's Jantar Mantar, and the big worry for them at this point is that there has been no effort by the government to engage in talks with them so far. The social activists, led by Anna Hazare, who began his hunger strike on Sunday, are demanding independent probe into corruption charges against 14 minsters.
Meanwhile, Anna's supporters in Pune, who were protesting near one of the sites of yesterday's coordinated blasts, have been asked to leave the spot. The activists had been protesting just opposite the Balgandharva auditorium, near which one of the blasts took place. Their permission was cancelled today.
(Read)The Delhi Police has written to Team Anna reminding them that when the activists were given permission to hold their protest, they had agreed in writing to move to hospital if their health was in danger. Anna's aides Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai have not eaten for more than a week.
Doctors from the government-run RML Hospital say they must be moved to hospital immediately. But the activists have refused and have warned the government against trying to force-feed them. They say their own doctors have indicated that there's no urgent need for them to end their fast just yet.
Yesterday, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said, "The government cannot be allowed to let people die without being called insensitive." He also said that the government should engage with the activists, but "not at gunpoint."
Last August, Anna's health dipped precariously when he spent 16 days fasting in Delhi, a pressure tactic to force the government to work on new landmark legislation against corruption. The Prime Minister and others urged Anna formally to call off his strike; he agreed only when parliamentarians promised to urgently debate the Lokpal Bill, named for the new national ombudsman agency that it creates.
This time around, the government has decided not to intervene. Sources say no appeal will be made for the activists to end their fast. "Those that gave permission for the camp at Jantar Mantar will decide how to deal with issues like deteriorating health," said government sources, who also ruled out any backroom discussions with Anna and his aides.
Earlier this week, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy described the hunger strike to NDTV as "a drama."
With the government making no effort to hold talks with Team Anna, supporters of the 75-year-old Anna staged protests twice outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence yesterday.
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