While Ramlila Maidan did not see a huge turnout due to the absence of Anna Hazare, the few who had gathered too were closely following the proceedings of Parliament’s special session that is debating the Lokpal Bill.
As the Parliament took up the Bill for consideration, many Anna supporters at the Maidan said though they were not much hopeful of an immediate overhaul of the Bill prepared by the government, they expected a good debate over it.
Psephologist Yogendra Yadav who addressed the sparse gathering, however, said it was no less an achievement of the movement that it had compelled the political class to debate the relevant issue seriously.
“If you people had not come here, the MPs would have been vacationing. Rather, today there is a debate over who would bring a better Lokpal bill, which is very encouraging and the political class too needs to be congratulated for it,” Yadav said.
Others said the agitation at this point of time was all the more needed because the Parliament best understands what they called the language of “pressure”.
“We will be closely monitoring what is happening in Parliament. Pressure will help. The Parliament will act only if we build the pressure. Without it there seems no possibility that the weak Bill will be reworked,” said C M Sharma, an assistant professor at the BPIT College of Engineering.
Five kilometres away from the Ramlila Maidan, Parliament saw the debate begin on a stormy note with the government and Opposition at loggerheads over what the latter called “deficiencies” in the bill.
“Honestly speaking, I do not have hope that much will emerge from the parliamentary debate, only some minor modifications may be made. However, we should not leave any stone unturned in making our voice heard,” said Satish Mittal, a businessman who has been a regular at Anna rallies.
The LCD screens installed at the Maidan that was supposed to relay scenes from both Hazare’s rally in Mumbai and from Parliament, however, turned out to be a disappointment as live webcast did not quite take off as it only momentarily relayed images from Hazare’s protest in Mumbai and the Lokpal debate in Lok Sabha.
“Though here I am unable to watch the parliamentary proceedings, I am monitoring internet news on my phone to keep a tab on what is happening,” said a young protester.
