The stage is set for a showdown between social activist Anna Hazare and the Union government, as the Delhi Police has imposed stringent conditions for Hazare’s fast scheduled to start on August 16.
The anti-corruption crusader has not only rejected the conditions set by the Delhi Police, he has also accused the government of acting like a dictatorship and taking away the constitutional right to stage protests.
Included in the long list of pre-conditions set by the Delhi Police are those saying Hazare has to end his fast by 6 pm on August 18 and that the crowd at the venue should have no more than 5,000 people. Other conditions include a cap on the number of cars and two-wheelers at 50 and a ban on loudspeakers and provocative speeches at the venue in central Delhi.
| CONDITIONS PLACED BY DELHI POLICE: * Vacate the park by 6 pm, August 18 * Crowd should not exceed 5,000 and should not spill on to roads * Govt doctors would examine protesters thrice a day. Their advice on medical attention would be final * Parking more than 50 cars and two-wheelers not allowed * No loudspeakers * No provocative speeches * No shamianas |
“If I am arrested, I would fast in jail. When the police would let me off, I will fast again,” Hazare said, while talking to reporters. He was hopeful that a solution to his demands for a strong Lok Pal Bill would emerge after three days of fasting.
Hazare has also written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing him and the Union government of acting like a dictatorship. “The Union government is creating an atmosphere similar to that in an emergency by imposing restrictions on the fast,” said Hazare, while refusing to accept the three-day limit on the fast.
“We were denied permission to fast at Jantar Mantar on the plea that the area could get blocked by protestors. So, we suggested four different venues like Rajghat, Shahid Park, Boat Club and Ramlila Maidan. But the police refused permission at all these places. Finally, we agreed to hold the protest at J P Park,” he said.
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Accusing the government of denying him his fundamental right to protest, Hazare said he would not allow the government to trample upon his freedom and constitutional rights just two days before the Independence Day. “You are 79 years old and have achieved everything in life. So, now you must show the courage to support what is right,” Hazare said in his letter to the prime minister.
“I and my supporters are ready to lay down our lives for the country and if the leader of this country are not capable of providing us a venue to stage a fast, I would rather court arrest on August 16,’’ he threatened.
Slamming the Delhi Police for unconstitutional conditions on the protest, former minister Shanti Bhushan said Hazare’s supporters had agreed on all the conditions of the Delhi Police like providing water and toilets, but not on the limiting the fast to three days and the restrictions on the number of protesters at the venue. “The government is scared and wants to protect the sources of corruption,” Shanti Bhushan said on Saturday.
“If anyone’s life is in danger, it is the government’s duty and right to protect it,” said home minister P Chidambaram, indicating the government would be tough with protestors.
Coming out in support of Anna Hazare and his team, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the tactics and threats being used by the home ministry could not continue. “If the government thinks it has the right to remove protestors, then the people also have the right to remove the government,” said BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.