IANS/New Delhi
Engergised by swelling support, social activist Anna Hazare yesterday vowed to remain on a fast till a strong anti-graft law was enacted as he resumed his protest at the Ramlila Ground after first paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial at Rajghat.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare sits in front of a huge Mahatma Gandhi poster at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on the fourth day of his hunger strike
The 74-year-old Hazare, who reached the rain-drenched Ramlila Ground after a nearly three-hour journey from the Tihar Jail where he had been since Tuesday, showed no signs of fatigue and declared before thousands of cheering supporters that there would be no budging on the Jan Lokpal Bill.
“We will not leave this place till a (stronger) Lokpal bill is passed,” the soldier-turned-reformer said, urging the youth not to abandon the fight against corruption.
“This is the start of a new revolution, of a new freedom struggle,” declared Hazare, whose arrest on Tuesday sparked off a nationwide outpouring of anger and put the government in a political fix.
“This torch of revolution should always remain lit. It is not just about Lokpal. We have to bring about a transformation in this country,” he said in chaste Hindi, comparing the present-day government with the colonial British Raj.
People, he added, would not tolerate any more the loot of national wealth.
The brief speech heralded Hazare’s indefinite protest demanding a strong anti-corruption law, four days after he had originally scheduled it in the national capital.
The crowds at the Ramlila Ground continued to swell, despite lashing rains. Elsewhere, in towns and cities across the nation, protests continued for the fourth day in his support.
Hazare’s team member and senior advocate Prashant Bhusan dismissed rumours of the social activists surrendering to the government, saying: “No compromise has been agreed to.”
Before reaching the sprawling Ramlila Ground, Hazare visited Rajghat, where an unusually large crowd gathered to support him.
He also paid homage at the India Gate memorial to the Unknown Soldier.
As he stepped out of Tihar Jail yesterday morning, hundreds of people, many of whom had been camping outside the prison for days, cheered.
The Gandhian enthusiastically shouted slogans of “Inquilab zindabad”, “Jai Hind” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” despite the fact that he had lost three kilograms since beginning his fast on Tuesday.
“The fight against corruption should continue whether or not I am alive. It’s a people’s movement and you should fight on even after I am gone,” he said to loud cheers.
