Anna Hazare refuses to leave, Tihar turns protest venue

Mtoday news / PTI

New Delhi, August 17: The anti-corruption crusador Anna Hazare spent the night in jail on Tuesday despite being freed by the authorities. He says he won’t leave if conditions against his fast at JP Park aren’t removed. With Anna inside, his supporters congregated the Tihar jail, spending the night singing and dancing.

Despite being released, Anna Hazare spent the night in Tihar Jail refusing to come out insisting on an unconditional release and permission to launch his fast at Jai Prakash Narain Park.

73-year-old Hazare, who is continuing his fast, is understood to have spent the night at one of the rooms in the Administrative Block of the jail premises along with his associate Arvind Kejriwal.



Hazare was offered released on Wednesday night after the Delhi Police issued warrants of release for him and seven of his associates, almost 13 hours after they were picked up from the a flat in Mayur Vihar in east Delhi in the morning and remanded to seven days judicial custody.

"Anna is ready to stay inside the jail itself, for as many days. He has set a condition before the jail authorities that let him go on fast for indefinite days at JP Park and he will come out of jail. If he is forcibly sent out, his fast will start from outside the jail itself. Now, our struggle has begun from here itself," said Manish Sisodia on Wednesday.

"Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal both are in jail. Anna says even if I get out of the jail, the police will again arrest me so it is better to stay in jail," added Sisodia.

Tihar jail overnight became the new Jantar Mantar for Team Anna and a protest venue for thousands of Anna supporters. Outside the jail premises, hundreds of people stayed through the night and expressed solidarity with Hazare and his campaign against corruption.

 

 

 

Anna’s associate Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday, "I would appeal to people that please come here and sit with us till Anna Hazare is freed."

By 11 pm on Tuesday, there was a crowd of at least 3000 people outside the prison complex - students, elderly couples, even working professionals.

One of the protestors Gurdeep Singh said, "I’d like to correct you, it’s 2 am in the morning and I don’t think anyone should sit at home right now. If you’re sleeping, you’re doing a great injustice to your nation."

Like Gurdeep there were many others who came to Tihar straight after finishing their day’s work.

No one looked tired or bored, perhaps it was because of all the spirited singing.

It is 3:30 am, the numbers have reduced but the enthusiasm of these people hasn’t gone down. Many of them were singing patriotic numbers and there are others who are just present to show their solidarity.

But they’re all clear in their resolve and that is no one will leave this location till the time Anna Hazare steps out.

Shouting anti-corruption slogans and holding the national tricolour, people from all walks of life started coming in large numbers from early hours of the day and joined others who were standing outside the jail premises through the night.