Under attack from all quarters, the government has justified the police action on Anna. Home Minister P Chidambaram, not allowed to make a statement in Parliament by a belligerent Opposition, called Anna Hazare's detention a "painful duty", carried out because of "breach of peace". He was at pains to say that the government was not against peaceful protest, but said Team Anna was detained because it had refused to comply with six of the police's 22 conditions and made clear that it would defy orders not to hold their protest fast.
