Over 100 supporters of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, who converged outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 7 Race Course Road residence here on Saturday demanding a strong Lokpal Bill, were detained by the police.
There was high drama outside Dr. Singh’s residence around 6.15 p.m. when the protesters gathered there armed with charcoal pieces and raised slogans in support of Mr. Hazare. They started pelting the security personnel deployed outside 7 Race Course Road with charcoal pieces when they tried to remove them. Some protesters tried to scale the boundary wall and iron gates, while some scribbled slogans on the road and the wall.
Extra forces had to be called in.
It is learnt that the protesters were at the Jantar Mantar venue of the indefinite fast by Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai when they decided to hold a demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s residence.
“We had not given a call for such a demonstration and it was not organised by us. It was spontaneous,” said a Team Anna member.
In all, 93 men and eight women were bundled into police vehicles and whisked away to the Tughlak Road police station. “They have not been arrested yet. We are examining the matter,” said a police officer.
Keywords: Jan Lokpal, anti-corruption movement, India Against Corruption, civil society agitation, Team Anna
@Gayatri
Those who are seating on those post and people like you who vote them are real disgrace to democracy...
The govt has the resources to organize all this security for one citizen
of India, but does not have the resources to ensure food for everyone,
nor to remunerate the brilliant individuals at the forefront of
education and research at global standards, or even to ensure security
for every citizen. Now I understand what the saying "all are equal but
some are more equal than others" means.
These are brave hearts. People who have shown a willingness to sacrifice. I hope this movement succeeds in its objective. A just society in India is not possible if corruption and lack of merit is allowed to prevail.
It is sad that the Anna team has degraded our democracy so much that
some of them have lost all respect for the high offices our
Constitution has provided for our governance. Please learn to
differentiate between the person and the office, and stop disrespecting
seats of Governance.
Every one who is against corruption will support Team Anna's non violent methods to
highlight the deletrious effects of this national menace and the clarion call to root it out from
our soil. But the methods of intrusion and disorderly behaviour of some of hos
overenthisiastic followers as revealed in this report cannot be supported or condoned by qny
one from civil society. Such incidents apart from bringing bad name to Team Anna , will also
give room for infiltration of anti social elements into the movement and shiftthe focus from
anti - corruption to breakdown of law and order. It is therefore necessary for Team Anna to
say a loud and firm ' NO ' to such uncivilzed measures and purge those elements from the
IAC. Only wuch determined action will decide the success pr failure of Anna's movement.
Let us call "Coal Satyagrah", by placing a piece of coal at PM's
residence
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