New delhi,August 18:In a late night breakthrough in the deadlock between Anna Hazare and Delhi police over the duration of his anti-corruption protest, the Gandhian accepted the offer for 14 days of hunger strike beginning on Thursday at the Ramlila Maidan.
“Anna has accepted the Delhi Police permission for two weeks bof fast. Anna now shall be at the Ramlila Ground ground post 3PM”, Hazare’s aide Kiran Bedi twitted. An announcement to this effect was also made by an associate of Hazare outside the Tihar jail, which was greeted with lusty cheers by hundreds of supporters by the Gandhian.
“Anna has won. We will get Jan Lokpal Bill”, one of the protesters said.
The Anna team met the Delhi Police commissioner in a fresh initiative to end the stalemate over the duration for the Gandhian’s protest for a strong Lokpal during which police offered two weeks permission for the hunger strike.
While Delhi Police had climbed down and dropped almost all the conditions it had sought to impose on Hazare’s protest, the only sticking point between the two sides has been the duration of the hunger strike.
“We met the police commissioner to help resolve the timeframe”, Bedi said.
The breakthrough came after a nearly 30-minute meeting.
Hazare aides Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal had with Delhi police Commissioner B K Gupta at the latter’s residence in Chanakyapuri shortly after midnight
Suspecting a “foreign” hand behind Anna Hazare’s anti-graft movement, Congress today raised questions on the US’s statement that India would exercise “appropriate democratic restraint” in dealing with peaceful protest and asked the government to inquire how a “lone” civil rights activist is drawing support.
Foreign Hand ?
“US never supported any movement in India since its independence. For the first time, the US said that Anna Hazare’s movement should be allowed and there should be no obstruction to it. What was the need for the US to give this statement?
“It needs to be considered whether there is any power which is supporting this movement which wants to destabilise not only the governmnet but the country. We need to take the statement of the US seriously,” party spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters at the AICC briefing.
Asked whether it is the official position of the party and whether he is saying all this on the party’s behalf as UPA government has many times in past been attacked by the Left over an alleged pro-US tilt more so after India signed the nuclear deal, Alvi said “all that I have said I have said on behalf of my party.”
Asked whether Congress has made preliminary inquiries before making this allegation suggesting that the US was behind Anna’s agitation, he said “government should inquire about it and find out the truth”.
Alvi at the same time said “there are some forces also within the country (that are supporting Hazare’s agitation from behind), which needs to be found out….I am not criticising the US or any other country. But we will have to find out the truth, why US is supporting this movemement”?
“Anna is alone. Anna has no organization but only a few friends standing by him. The big question is how this movement came into existence? How people in such a large number come out to support him”? the Congress leader said.
Ahead of the proposed August 16 fast against corruption by Hazare, the US state department spokesperson Victorial Nuland had hoped that India would exercise “appropriate democratic restraint” in the way it deals with peaceful protest.
The remarks drew a sharp response from India which termed as “needless” and after that Nuland had yesterday exuded confidence in India’s ability to manage its “internal situation” in consistent with democratic values.