Within an hour of Anna Hazare begining his three-day fast, his prominent supporters Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi on Tuesday appealed to him to end the hunger strike taking into consideration his ill health but the activist remained adamant on continuing his protest.
“He has fever, let us request him to stop his fast. Anna can continue his dharna,” Ms. Bedi said addressing supporters at the MMRDA ground where Mr. Hazare was sitting on fast.
The 74-year-old activist was suffering from viral infection and his personal assistant Suresh Pathare had been insisting that Mr. Hazare was well and he will be sitting on fast.
“Anna is unwell. Will you request Anna to withdraw his fast?” Ms. Bedi asked the crowd, which responded with a loud “Yes”.
However, Mr. Hazare, looking quite under the weather, waved his hand in a gesture of “No”.
Mr. Kejriwal and another close aide Manish Sisodia also requested Mr. Hazare to end his fast.
Mr. Hazare, who has been suffering from cold and mild fever for the past three days, reached the grounds at around 12:30 PM after a rally from the guest house where he was staying to the ground which took over two-and-half hours.
“He is a little weak as of now, but will be fit to fast from tomorrow. His blood pressure and other vital parameters are normal. He has got a little cough and cold but he is getting better,” his doctor D G Pote had said yesterday.
The activist has been under medication for the past three days, he said.
Ms. Bedi said Mr. Hazare had not eaten for two days.
“He has not taken medicines because to take antibiotics you need to eat,” she said and appealed to Mr. Hazare to break the fast.
Arvind Kejriwal, another prominent Team Anna member, said they have been urging the activist to break his fast since he is not well.
“But Anna says he will speak about it in his speech later,” Mr. Kejriwal said, adding that other key members of Hazare’s team including Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas were also fasting with the anti-graft crusader.
