Government Sweats as Defiant Hazare Stays Put in Jail
Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Aug 17: There seems to be no respite in sight for the UPA government with anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare staying adamant on his stand and refusing to leave the Tihar jail despite being freed.
Hazare spent the night in the jail, and has been refusing to leave until and unless the government agrees unconditionally to let him carry on his fast at JP Park here.
On Tuesday August 16, Hazare was first detained hours before his fast demanding a stronger Lokpal Bill was to begin, and later arrested after he refused to sign a bail order. Along with him, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi too were taken into custody.
The defiant Hazare termed his detention as a 'second freedom struggle' and called upon the countrymen to go on an 'jail bharo' movement. Following his arrest, the entire country erupted into protests. Apart from major cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, numerous big and small protests took place in Udaipur, Jammu, Selam, Bhopal, Surat, Rajkot, Patna, Guwahati, Raipur, Shimla, Mandi, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhiwani -- and many more.
The people who took to the streets were dominantly from the middle class -- sick and tired of India's endemic corruption. There were men and women, from vocal teenagers to spirited men even in their 80s.
Once Hazare was taken to Tihar Jail, large numbers offered themselves for arrest in Delhi. The number swelled to around 1,400, by official admission. After a while police refused to arrest any more saying that the makeshift prison -- Chhatrasal stadium -- was overflowing.
Activists insisted that up to 5,000 had been detained.
Later in the evening, after an intervention by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi and relentless pressure from various quarters, the government agreed to release Hazare from jail. However, the Gandhian refused to leave, and said that he would do so only if the government grants him unconditional permission to continue his fast.
The Opposition and other political parties came down heavily on the UPA for its move. For the first time perhaps, the BJP and the Left stood united against the government, along with Samajwadi Party, the RJD and the TDP, who plan to disrupt the Parliament proceedings on Wednesday August 17.
The parties have been demanding an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding Anna's arrest. Their decision to call for a statement from the PM came after a meeting with Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the government may go in for backroom talks with Hazare to sort out the situation. The Congress core group will meet on Wednesday and the PM is scheduled to make statement in the Parliament the same day.