Hyderabad, Feb 19 (DHNS) : The much-publicised first visit of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare cleary turned out to be a damp squib with only a few hundred people turning up at the event in Hyderabad.

Anna did not mince words while expressing his disappointment over the miserable response he got in the State capital. “The turnout is poor,” the anti-graft icon said more than once during his hour-long speech.

However, he cloaked his disappointment by saying that he was encouraged by the number of youngsters in the crowd. “I see quite a lot of  youngsters in the crowd, and they are the future of the country. If I can enlighten them against corruption, my purpose will be served,” he said.

With the aim of challenging the UPA government’s policies, “Jantantra Morcha” organised this public meeting at a college ground in Secunderabad.

It was scheduled to take off at 3 pm, but with just empty chairs surrounding the podium, the organisers kept postponing it, hoping for some more people to gather. But, even at 6 pm, when the social activist rose to speak, there were only a few who had turned up to listen to his speech. 

Overcoming his initial disappointment, Anna declared, “In this country of 1.2 billion people, I am confident that I will be successful in awakening at the conscience of least 60 million public. Once I achieve this, it is enough to force the government to bring about the much-needed changes in the system.”

“By the next elections, we should have a ‘right to reject’ option while voting. If a majority of the voters use this option, then elections will be held again,” Anna said