Court seeks evidence on allegations against Hazare

A Delhi court has asked a complainant from Haryana to produce evidence on allegations that Anna Hazare and his team had instigated people against the government during their protest at Ramlila Maidan.

Dismissing Satbir Singh’s plea seeking a direction to the Delhi Police, asking them to register a criminal case against Hazare and his team, Metropolitan Magistrate Tyagita Singh told him to produce evidence supporting his allegations.

“This court is of the opinion that no direct offence by accused persons is made out at this stage.The complainant is granted the opportunity to lead his evidence, and the complaint is treated as a case under Section 200 CrPC,” the court said.

Anna Hazare to fast in jail if not allowed to protest at Ramlila Maidan

RALEGAN SIDDHI: Anna Hazare today said he will sit on an idenfinite fast in jail if police does not give permission for his proposed protest at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan later this month for a strong Lokpal.

"I will sit on a fast in jail. Who can stop me from going on a fast in jail? Nobody can stop in jail," he told reporters when asked what he will do if police denies permission for holding his fast from December 27 if a strong Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.

Team Anna has sought permission from Delhi Police for a fast by Hazare from December 27 to June five at the Ramlila Maidan if the bill is not passed in the ongoing Parliament session.

He said he had sat on a fast in Delhi's Tihar Jail in August when the government did not give him permission to sit on a dharna in the capital.

"The plan was to do what they did with (yoga guru) Ramdev. They wanted to take me to airport when I am released from jail. An Air Force plane was ready at the Delhi airport. They would have taken me to Pune..." he alleged.

He said the government's plans got derailed when he refused to get out of jail without being given a site to protest.

Asked whether he was putting pressure on government, Hazare said the protest was not against the government or Congress. "It is not against Rahul Gandhi or Prime Minister," he added.

Yesterday, Hazare had alleged that Rahul Gandhi might have intervened to reverse a Parliamentary Standing Committee decision to include Group C employees under the ambit of Lokpal.

No date yet for Team Anna’s Muslim rally

The Muslim rally, which India Against Corruption had planned in the first week of December in Lucknow to allay the minority apprehensions that the anti-corruption movement was being pushed by communal forces, is unlikely to be held.

The rally was announced on November 14 when Anna Hazare core team member Arvind Kejriwal had a meeting with some Muslim leaders and clerics in the city.

IAC core committee member Mufti Shamoon Qasmi, who had announced the rally would be held in December first week, now said no date is fixed, but the rally will be planned soon.

He said the rally might be postponed because of Hazare’s one-day fast at Jantar Mantar on December 11 and indefinite fast at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi from December 27.

However, sources in IAC said the rally was never seriously considered after its announcement as prominent Muslim clerics and leaders had not turned up at the meeting called by Kejriwal.

Among those who had stayed away were Maulana Kalbe Jawad, Zafaryab Jilani, Maulana Fazlur Rahman Waizi. However, Kejriwal had gone to meet Maulana Kalbe at his residence.

Anna Hazare enters cyberworld attacking government agents

NEW DELHI: Entering the cyberworld with a blog and a twitter account, Anna Hazare today accused "some government agents" of creating an image that it was due to their "favourite ministers" that he gave up his fast in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in August.

"It was only when my inner voice permitted me I broke my fast after getting assurance from the government. The reason I am clearing the misconceptions here is I came to understand some government agents tried to propagate and create an image that it was the handiwork of their favourite ministers that I gave up my fast.

"I came across articles of self-praise, interviews published by them. This is a false propaganda," Hazare said in his multi-lingual blog http://annahazaresays.wordpress.com/.

Giving some insight into what transpired before he called off his 12-day-old fast for a strong Lokpal, Hazare wrote that till the last moment, the government tried to break the movement.

As talks progressed regarding calling off his fast, he said the people, who came to meet his team members, the middle-man, the Minister all of them had "different versions, different assurances.

"It was the responsibility of the government that they scrutinies the people they had sent for negotiations whether they were corrupt or had clean image. That was for the Government to think. I held talks with them considering they were Government representatives! The answers lay with the government," he said.

After Harare called off the fast, questions have been raised, particularly in media interviews, over the participation of Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is facing allegations in Adarsh scam, and Bhayyuji Maharaj in mediation.

Hazare’s lawyer to send legal notice, seek written apology from Tewari

Anna Hazare’s lawyer Milind Pawar has said he will be sending a legal notice to Congress MP and spokesperson Manish Tewari this week, seeking a written apology for his remarks against the social activist. Tewari had alleged that Hazare was “steeped in corruption from head to toe” in the run-up to the latter’s fast at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.

Earlier, Pawar had announced that he would file a defamation suit against Tewari. The decision to send the legal notice was taken after he had a meeting with Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi on September 2, the day on which the latter addressed a gram sabha in his native village for the first time after the fast. “Though Tewari had expressed regret for his statement, Anna instructed me to send the legal notice this week. This will deter anyone else from making false allegations,” Pawar said.

The notice will be sent by e-mail and registered post. “If we fail to get a reply to the notice within the stipulated time, we shall file a private criminal complaint against Tewari under Sections 499 (whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person) and 500 (whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both),” he said.

Hazare had earlier filed a defamation suit against former minister Suresh Jain on June 23, 2003, who had also levelled corruption charges against him. Hazare had, in his application, asked Jain to prove his allegation that he had defrauded a bank to the tune of Rs 75 lakh. The case is pending before the Pune court.

Out looking for Anna but found much more

LUDHIANA: There is almost no one in the city who missed seeing Anna Hazare on TV and some even went to Delhi and saw him at the Ramlila Maidan. Now, Ludhianvis have found a new place to find Anna at - the Prabhakar Wax museum, where he stands with a torch of revolution in his hand.

But once in the museum, it not just Anna who is catching the eye. There are many more statues of celebrities that are drawing exclamations of wonder from city residents.

"I had read about the statue of Anna that Prabhakar was making and ever since wanted to visit the museum. Sunday was the best time for it as my family was free. I have complimented the artist as the statue is so real that one feels Anna is about to talk to you. My children were also amazed and we got pictures clicked with Anna's statue and many other statues like that of Dharminder as he looked in his movie 'Yamla Pagla Deewana','' said Harpreet Singh Chandoke, a businessman from Rajguru Nagar.

Businessman Aditya R Kalia could not agree more with Chandoke. "What I saw at the museum was much better than what I had imagined. The moment you enter, you feel like standing in the middle of a large number of people gazing at you... All the statues are so real. I had visited to see the statue of Anna Hazare but all the others are also amazing,'' said Kalia, a resident of Barewal Road.

Chander Shekhar Prabhakar, 65 years old and a businessman himself, has adeptly been making wax statues of national and international personalities from different walks of life.
Chander Shekhar Prabhakar inspiration is the Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London that he had visited in 2001 during his trip to attend a close friend's wedding.

Fascinated by the statues there, Prabhakar suggested to the authorities that they open a branch in India too. But the suggestion was turned down so Prabhakar resolved to start one himself.
The magic of fingers became evident when he made the first wax statue of Mahatma Gandhi in 2004 and then there were many more creations.
"After making the first statue I was confident that I am on the right track so I made many statues one after the other including that of Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Jackson, Sonia Gandhi, Barak Obama, Manmohan Singh and the latest one to be added was of Anna Hazare,'' said Prabhakar.

Initially, Prabhakar was making these at home and then he shifted to a place given at Hardy's World but now with 51 wax statues, Prabhakar has made a museum in Bhattian village on National Highway 1, close to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum.

Prabhakar's museum has been constructed on an area of 2,000 square yards and has a big studio in the basement where he first creates a clay mould looking at pictures of the subject. "Then I pour bee wax into the mould and after this starts the real work of giving the final shape to the face. The torso and the legs are made of fibre, which is used to facilitate moving the statue from one place to another without destroying it,'' Prabhakar explained.

Self-centred? Delhi finds new identity, soul with Anna's movement

NEW DELHI: The fast began in Tihar jail on Tuesday. By the time the police agreed to the terms set by Anna Hazare, Friday had arrived. Thousands flooded Ramlila Maidan where the social activist had been permitted to stage his protest. The cynics predicted that the crowd would peak during the weekend and peter out the following week.

They were wrong. The multitude held firm through the week. They shouted pungent slogans (Saare yuva yahaan hain, Rahul Gandhi kahaan hai?), waved the tricolor, danced in sunshine and sang in rain. Across the city, RWAs brought out small candlelight demonstrations. Artists sprayed graffiti. Barring one minor late night incident, there wasn't a single incident of violence: no destruction of public property, no molestation or eve-teasing.

In a venue poised between two Delhis - the old and the new - the city and its citizens surprised everybody with a kind of new collective behaviour. This was a different Delhi on display. "There seems to be a new consciousness about setting and following norms of self-governance and self-discipline, especially in public spaces," says sociologist Yogendra Singh.

For decades, Delhi has been reviled as a self-centred city which often turned violent. To many, the city, celebrating its 100th year since the national capital moved here, personified the paradox of being India's political centre yet playing host to 17 million apolitical people.

The allegation was partly justified. In the 1990s and earlier, Delhi was primarily an unwilling, resentful recipient of political rallies. The Mandal agitation was a possible exception. But it was violent and destructive. But this was different.

As columnist Santosh Desai puts it, "People are finally beginning to take responsibility for something larger than themselves. There is a positive change in the city's social behaviour."

Changes are processes, not incidents. But perhaps February 21, 2006 is a crucial date in the social evolution of Delhi. That was the day the city discovered that no one had killed Jessica Lall. That judgment was a shock therapy to a people for whom apathy was the norm. The case gave them a cause to campaign for.

Since that day, many stopped being fence sitters. That was perhaps the beginning of Dilliwallahs redefining their own engagement with society. The change was also evident in the reaction to the Priyardarshini Mattoo case -- a law student stalked and murdered by fellow student Santosh Singh. A public campaign forced a retrial, ultimately leading to Santosh's conviction.

Perhaps Delhi has changed more than we have noticed or bothered to examine. The absence of eve-teasing during the all-night World Cup 2011 win celebrations across the city or during the anti-corruption movement weren't aberrations. Rather they encapsulated larger city trends: between 2006 and 2009, eve-teasing dropped by 57% and women molestation by 23%, police records show.

Desai feels that the change has come with a much easier relationship of genders. "There are more platforms for social interaction," he says. With easy availability of technology, fantasy has given way to access and reality. You don't just stare at the girl; you just send an sms.

SMS are GenNow tools of political mobilization too. What started off with sending SMSs and chain mails, forming online groups and bringing out candlelight demonstrations has since blossomed into a larger social and political awareness. Neelam Katara, whose son was killed by a strongman politician's son, says, "During my fight, I got a lot of support from the common people."

The Anna anti-corruption movement was more expansive in content and an amalgam of different social groups. Be it traders who served free snacks or the frail old man who went around distributing water, it showed a larger band of citizenry rubbing shoulders with the more privileged social groups for a common cause. The young were more prominent but the old were present in big numbers too.

That's perhaps why 24-year-old computer engineer Abhinav Sharma is at a loss to explain his experience. "For the first time I saw people from different classes sharing jokes, food, slogans. I had never imagined something like this could happen in Delhi," he says.

The changes are evident in non-political events too. Desai recalls how college festivals, especially rock shows, ended up in brawls where somebody would invariably draw a knife or a gun. "Now such instances are much fewer because the young get more occasions to interact. Collective rowdiness has dipped," says Desai.

In 1947, Delhi became home to lakhs of refugees from the other side of the fence. Social scientist Ashis Nandy says that the refugees in post-Partition Delhi, as literature on them suggests, had certain traits. They were tough-minded and self-centred; many were wheeler-dealers, prone to violence. "But those characteristics have softened after a generational change," he says.

Part of the change possibly has also been prompted by a steady migration from different states - both of professionals as well as labourers. Together, they have created a more diverse city. "Delhi was like a district town. Finally, it is becoming a metropolitan city. There's a maturing of sorts," says Nandy.

Freelance sound recordist Asheesh Pandya, a Ramlila Maidan regular, echoes a similar view, "The average Dilliwallah is more politically conscious and socially aware than say, five years back."

Yogendra Singh says that the media too has played a role in raising the confidence of the citizenry. "Over the past decade, newspapers have also become vehicles to highlight and underline the needs and grievances of the middle-class, rather than merely represent political discourses. It has helped in empowering and enabling them; the crowd in Ramlila maidan was self-assured in its strength," he says.

It is possible that Delhi's story isn't just that of a city but the story of a nation. The India narrative post-1991 is often divided into two categories: India Shining and India Invisible. Perhaps Delhi, like many other cities, towns and qasbahs, is witnessing the emergence of a third India that acts as a bridge between the two, which has its foot in both, but which has an identity of its own.

Anna supporters, Lakshmi Chand end hunger strike

Supporters of social activist Anna Hazare called off their hunger strike on Sunday after watching on television their mentor breaking his fast in New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in the morning.

Lakshmi Chand Thakur, a retired government employee, who was on hungerstrike for 13 days, broke his fast at the Ridge. In the last 13 days, Thakur had been hospitalised twice, as his health deteriorated. But he gave a slip to the hospital authorities and returned to continue his fast. Thakur had lost 4 kg in the 13 days when he survived on water and honey.

A group of five, who had joined Thakur in his hungerstrike, also ended their fast on Sunday. Later, along with Thakur, they were sent for medical examination.

In the evening, supporters of Anna celebrated the occasion by taking out a victory procession. Similar stories were reported from other areas of Himachal with hungerstrikes ending in Solan, Una, Kangra, Dharamsala, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Chamba and Mandi.

Give Anna security, his lawyer writes to CM

Advocate Milind Pawar, Anna Hazare’s lawyer in Pune, has written to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Home Minister R R Patil demanding security for Hazare.

The letter sent on Sunday states, “Anna Hazare had undertaken an indefinite hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. For the last 12 days, Anna along with his team and other volunteers had delivered speeches against the government and some people were upset with these speeches...I know Anna is against any security, but I think it is the duty of the government to take care of Anna...’

In April this year, too, Pawar had written to the CM demanding security for Hazare, but no action was taken on the request.

“Although Hazare is not a government servant, it is the government’s lookout as to how security can be granted to him considering this latest agitation. Everyone knows what happened to Gandhiji and it is now the government’s responsibility to safeguard Anna,” said Pawar. He added that it is not difficult for the government to give him special consideration and grant him security.

When Pawar had told Anna about this demand for security in April, he had dismissed it saying he did not need it. “However, after this 12-day fast, things have changed and he has become more vulnerable,” Pawar said.

Datta Awari, a close aide of Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi, said that the government had appointed four security personnel for Hazare after he had filed a police complaint against Padmasinh Patil, whom the NCP had suspended from the party in 2009, for allegedly conspiring to eliminate him. “However, considering the latest 12-day fast, there is definitely a need for improvised security for Anna,” said Awari.

Suresh Pathare, a confidant of Hazare who has been with him in Delhi, said it was up to the government to decide whether or not Anna needed security. “Demanding it is against Hazare’s ideology,” he added.

Hazare crisis: Errors of judgement have been made, says Khurshid

Law Minister Salman Khurshid, a key negotiator with Team Anna, maintained that Government made 'no mistakes' in tackling Anna Hazare's 12-day fast but admitted there were 'errors of judgement'.

Describing the situation arising out of Hazare's stir for a strong Lokpal bill as complex, very sensitive and an unique experience for the Government, Khurshid also rejected suggestions that senior Ministers P Chidamabram and Kapil Sibal were 'discredited' for their handling of the crisis and had to be withdrawn from negotiations.

"Errors of judgement have been made, errors of judgement are made whenever you are involved in a difficult situation.

Errors of judgement are not mistakes", Khurshid told CNN-IBN on Karan Thapar's 'Devil's Advocate' programme.

"We made no mistakes. What we did may not have turned out to be the way it should. May be our calculation and anticipation turned out to be not what we thought it to be.

But I am not prepared to admit we made mistakes," said Khurshid, who was part of Government's negotiating team headed by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Defending the way the government handled the Hazare agitation, he said, "It is courage of conviction. It is faith in yourselves. We are not pushovers. We might have made errors of judgment. We may have lost ground somewhere but we are determined to get that ground back."

Asked whether he is saying that the government has made no mistakes, a combative Khurshid said, "The outcome of what you did depends on how you define a mistake. A mistake is to do something that you should not be doing."

To repeated queries whether government committed mistakes in tackling the situation, he said, "Ask me 100 times, my answer will be the same."

He further said, "It is very sensitive, complex situation that has just unfolded into a good resolution."

"It is faith and confidence and I believe we do not want the government to be kicked around...It is the best possible resolution by Parliament," he added.

Parliament considering privilege motions against Bedi, Om Puri Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/parliament-considering-privilege-motions-against-bedi-om-puri-129910&cp

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare's close aide Kiran Bedi and actor Om Puri face privilege motions for mocking at and passing caustic comments against lawmakers.

The notices were filed in both houses of parliament Monday even as Om Puri apologised for calling MPs "anpadh" (uneducated) and "nalayak" (incompetent) at the Ramlila Maidan during Hazare's fast last week.

Bedi expressed no regrets for poking fun at politicians who she alleged don "several masks" to deceive people.

MPs in both Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have given notices against the two for the "derogatory and defamatory" comments.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said she was considering a privilege motion against Om Puri and Bedi.

"The matter is under my consideration. I have received notices on the question of privilege," she said in the Lok Sabha after she received the complaints.

Similar notices were also given in the Rajya Sabha where Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said he would convey the sense of the house on the issue to Chairman Hamid Ansari.

If the notices are admitted, the privilege committee will quiz the accused and recommend action against them.

Mohammed Adeeb, an independent MP from Uttar Pradesh, said Bedi had mocked at parliamentarians by wrapping a scarf around her head and face.

"They say one thing inside the house and one thing outside. You remove one mask, then you find another one, and then another," she said, at the protest rally of Hazare last week.

Om Puri also launched a blistering attack on politicians from the stage at Ramlila Maidan. He told the thousands gathered that he feels "ashamed when an IAS or IPS officer salutes a ganwar (illiterate) who is a neta (political leader).

"Yeh anpadh hain, inka kya background hai? Aadhe se zyaada MP ganwaar hain," Om Puri, known for his character roles, told the cheering crowd.

However, the 60-year-old actor later apologised and said he was ready to face any action by MPs. "If they are still angry with me, I will take whatever punishment they give me."

Government hasn't made any mistakes: Salman Khurshid

In Devil's Advocate this week, Karan Thapar speaks to Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid and asks him if the government made serious mistakes in their handling of Anna Hazare and his protest against corruption.

Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate. How does the government defend itself against what many consider the gross mishandling of Anna Hazare? That's the key issue I shall explore today with Law Minister Salman Khurshid. Salman Khurshid, Pranab Mukherjee has already admitted that the government may have bungled. Most people much go stronger than that. They say this a debacle, possibly a disaster. Can you this morning accept that the government made serious mistakes?

Salman Khurshid: See, please don't pick words out of context. Pranabda was speaking to the House and in the House repartee; you want to put an end to…

Karan Thapar: One moment, are you trying to say that outside the House he would say something else?
Salman Khurshid: In House repartee you have to call an end to issues that become irrelevant, when you want to get to the core, and he wanted to get to the core and he essentially was saying let's not argue about your point of view, let us now get to the point.

Karan Thapar: Salman, let me interrupt you and put this to you. Probably 90 per cent of India today is convinced that your government seriously mishandled the Anna situation. Can you today, as an honest minister accept that serious mistakes were made?

Salman Khurshid: I'm saying that everything you do doesn't necessarily give you those returns that you expect when you do it. You have to stand back and look at what steps you took, what by hindsight you may not have taken. But I don't think this is a blame game or an acceptance of a postmortem.

Karan Thapar: Forgive me, you're sounding like Lehmann Brothers claiming that subprime motives wasn't a crime. You've actually been negligent, you've allowed a crisis to develop. India has been traumatised for 13 days, and when asked, a member of the government hasn't got the capacity to say that his government made serious mistakes?.

Salman Khurshid: No, I don't believe we made serious mistakes, I do believe that it was a unique experience. I do believe that it was important not just for us to act alone, but to get every big political party, the major political parties on board, and I think at the end of the day that's what we achieved and it's the result that should matter.

Karan Thapar: What you've achieved in fact is a monumental mess that lasted for 13 days traumatising India. But let's leave that aside, I'll come to that in a moment's time. Let me repeat my question. Are you saying to me that your government made no mistakes handling Anna Hazare?

Salman Khurshid: I'm saying that they made no mistakes. I'm saying that the outcome of what we did…

Karan Thapar: I'm interrupting you. Do you want to really say that you made no mistake?

Salman Khurshid: Yes, I'm saying the outcome of what we did, it depends on how you define a mistake. A mistake is to do something that you should not be doing.

Karan Thapar: Aren't you quibbling with words?

Salman Khurshid: I'm not quibbling with words, I think this is a very sensitive, complicated and a difficult situation that has just unfolded into a mutual resolution.

Karan Thapar: This pride, is this bravado that you cannot admit you made mistakes?

Salman Khurshid: No, no, it's faith, it's confidence and belief that we don't want the government to be kicked around by people who have…

Karan Thapar: But the government was. The government was not just kicked around, you became a football.

Salman Khurshid: I don't think government was. I think it's the best possible resolution Parliament could have got and if you look at what we have done, the manner in which we have done, I don't think you can quibble with it.

Karan Thapar: I am going to give you once last opportunity to answer this question, I'm asking it perhaps for the fifth time. Are you seriously saying you made no mistakes?

Salman Khurshid:Ask me for a 100 times, we made no mistakes. What we did may not have turned out to be as it would, maybe our anticipation and calculation turned out to be not what we thought it would be, but I'm not prepared to admit that we made mistakes. We very carefully step by step tried to understand the complicated situation and the fact that what we did may not have given us positive results, is not to be treated as ‘you made a mistake'.

Karan Thapar: Alright, I let you answer that in full without interrupting you because I thought it was fair that you should be able to explain to the people why you think you didn't make a mistake.

Salman Khurshid:That's only fair for the media to behave like that always.
Karan Thapar: Let's not quibble about that.
Salman Khurshid: I'm asserting. I'm not quibbling.

Karan Thapar: Let's come to the consequences of what happened. To begin with, your government today in the eyes of many Indians stands discredited, its authority is dented, many people are losing faith in your government.

Salman Khurshid: I don't think that's the impression we have. First time, after years, certainly in my life, to have a unanimous resolution by popular acclaimed in the House led by the leader of the House,

Karan Thapar: That acclaimed in the House was not for the government. In fact the truth is that two of your most senior ministers Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram are discredited. Arvind Kejriwal refused to speak with them, at Ramlila Maidan they became hate figures.

Salman Khurshid:I will question that. They were involved…

Karan Thapar: On what basis can you question that?

Salman Khurshid: I will tell you why. They were involved at a very difficult stage, they were involved when they had to take calls that were difficult calls, they were involved when there was intransigence on both sides.

Karan Thapar: And they messed up, which is why Arvind Kejriwal refused to speak to them, which is why they were withdrawn as interlocutors and you replaced them.

Salman Khurshid: No, no, they were never withdrawn. Nobody was withdrawn.

Karan Thapar: But they disappeared from sight.


Salman Khurshid: I'm sorry, they remained there constantly, they did what they were required to do and they helped us all the way. I didn't go to the Ramlila Ground, it was Mr Deshmukh who went.

Karan Thapar: Alright you may dispute that your colleagues were discredited.

Salman Khurshid: I'm not prepared to accept. You may be popular or unpopular with the crowd on a particular moment for a particular event, but I'm not prepared to accept that they are discredited.

Karan Thapar: Alright let's come to the impression of the Prime Minister. Today many Indians are questioning his leadership, they believe that he wasn't in control during this crisis, worst of all in the eyes of many people he's losing the respect he had in 2009. For the Prime Minister, this has been a serious debacle.

Salman Khurshid: I don't think that you have studied what happened. How every step was led by him, how every decision was done by him, for four days, the Prime Minister just sat there almost as though he was in a control room monitoring every step that we took and every word that we spoke, and I'm sorry that if someone thinks that the Prime Minister was not in control, then they don't understand what happened.

Karan Thapar: Alright, but the impression has gone across the whole country, very widely that the government is discredited, people are losing trust, the Prime Minister's authority is diminished, people are losing faith in him. That's the problem you face today.

Salman Khurshid: I'm not prepared to accept that, but I certainly will display that the space that has been taken by contending people, we will need to get that space back.

Karan Thapar: There's an awful lot of space that you need to get back. An ocean has also opened between you and the people.

Salman Khurshid: It happens in a democracy and when oceans open they also split to give you a part that happened with Moses.

Karan Thapar: You're not Moses. You have lost the capacity to lead the people to the future land, that's the problem.

Salman Khurshid: We may not be Moses, but we're not against Gandhi either. Gandhi is on our side.

Karan Thapar: You didn't fulfill his principals. The Gandhi mantle descended on Anna Hazare, you looked like the British colonialists and imperialists and like them you stand discredited.

Salman Khurshid: That is your view and I don't want to contradict it again and again, but I'm telling you the bottomline is that whenever these kinds of things happen, there are gives and takes, there are improvements and falling in popularity stakes, we know what we're doing, we know where we're going and we know the time that we have.

Karan Thapar: Let's then come to the serious mistakes you made, which of course, you say you didn't make at all, but the people widely believe you did. Given that you knew from April that Anna Hazare intended to start a second fast unto death in August, why did you not hold the special session you held on Saturday, pass a resolution you passed on Saturday, earlier so that you could prevent this?

Salman Khurshid: We didn't hold a special session on Saturday.

Karan Thapar: But you held a special day of debate. why didn't you do it earlier?

Salman Khurshid: We were to do it for other legislation but when we found that there as a criticality
involved in the health of Anna Hazare. We assumed we could not wait till Monday.

Karan Thapar: How come you didn't realise and appreciate that the situation would become critical. You had warnings from April, that's what I'm saying. Instead of understanding it is a political crisis, you treated it as law and order, that's the error you made to begin with.

Salman Khurshid: World over, why do peace talks happen, when they happen?

Karan Thapar: Because a crisis develops, but do you have to let a crisis develop?

Salman Khurshid: You should not have a crisis. Why do you go to a doctor when a crisis develops? Don't allow your crisis to develop.

Karan Thapar: Isn't prevention better than cure? You failed to prevent.

Salman Khurshid: Of course it is. But you can't always prevent and sometimes you have to cure.

Karan Thapar: You had a warning from April of a hunger strike and you couldn't prevent the crisis developing?

Salman Khurshid: We tried our best.

Karan Thapar: You didn't, that's what I'm saying. You treated it as law and order.

Salman Khurshid: It's your assessment. No we didn't treat it as a law and order problem. There were two parallel lines working. One was the line of negotiation, one was the line of trying to understand what was the give and take available, the other was a line which automatically had to be applied which was the law and order line.

Karan Thapar: Hang on a second. You said there was a line of negotiations and yet 48 hours before Anna Hazare's hunger strike began, Manish Tewari was calling him corrupt saying he was corrupt from head to toe, at that point, you should have been reaching out, you instead offended him, and offending frantically everyone in the country as well.

Salman Khurshid: I think we've talked about this in an earlier programme, Manish Tewari had an answer then, he had drawn a line, it was a position that a young man took upset by the fact that the Prime Minister had been sent a very distressing message. He took that position but he did realise that it was a tougher position to take.

Karan Thapar: He realised 10 to 12 days later. It was a monumental mistake of judgement and are you really blaming it on Manish rather than the officials of the Congress?

Salman Khurshid: I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just explaining Manish's emotions, I'm not blaming him.

Karan Thapar: Strange explanation that a spokesman could make such a disastrous mistake as to offend the one man you want to try and win.

Salman Khurshid: There were many other contact points which were positive, which were creative and constructive and I think that's what worked in the end. Please give us credit for what we have done yesterday, instead of running us down on everything.

Karan Thapar: One can virtually give you credit for having dug yourself out out of a grave with the help of others around you, wouldn't choose to become your burial partners. That's the only thing I want to give you credit for. Let me point out a second mistake. When Anna had announced that he wanted to protest, why did you impose undemocratic condition restricting the protest. You forced him to bring people out in the street in defiance of your unfair and undemocratic restrictions. You created that protest.

Salman Khurshid: You sound as though this is the first time law of the land has been imposed. The law of the land is for everyone, its no different for me, its no different for Anna.

Karan Thapar: Do you not see this undemocratic, high handed and arrogant fashion?

Salman Khurshid: No, it was not an arrogant faction, I must pay tribute to the Delhi Police for the manner in which the last 10 days have been handled, I think it's the most remarkable conduct and behaviour and I've had this from Anna's side himself.

Karan Thapar: I'm very happy that you should pay tribute to the Delhi Police but I don't hold them, the country doesn't hold them responsible for the faults that happened. It's the politicians who are their master, i.e., your government, that is at fault. Your second mistake was that on August 16, before he had committed any fault, you swept down on his home and preventively detained him at 7 am in the morning. It was offensive, it annoyed people of the country.

Salman Khurshid: It may have annoyed, but I can't understand one thing. It's happened to me six times, when I was UPCC president, you didn't ask anybody why that was done to me.

Karan Thapar: Because you're a politician…

Salman Khurshid: Because I'm a small man. And I don't have media partnerships.

Karan Thapar: This is an icon who had hundreds and thousands of people behind him. you provoked the people. No one gets provoked when a Salman Khurshid is preventively detained.

Salman Khurshid:I'm sorry they were. It's just that you don't know. The world doesn't end with the media box. The world is much larger. The world certainly starts and ends with Anna Hazare. Anna Hazare is a very important icon. Anna Hazare is someone to whom not only our Prime Minister has saluted, but paid tribute. Today, we are pleased and happy that he is in a hospital, that his health will be secure. But, we're not folding up and going away, not because you think so, we're here and we will be here.

Karan Thapar: Whether you're folding up or whether you're retreating because you've been pushed on the backfoot and you're stumbling, perhaps over the wicket, we leave that to the people to judge.

Salman Khurshid: Just as we will leave it to the people, the role that you in the media are playing.

Karan Thapar: Absolutely, and it's only right that the people should have criticism if they believe it's the case of people like me. Let's come back to you because I'm questioning you.

Salman Khurshid: I'm questioning you as well. I'm not here just to answer.

Karan Thapar: You say you treat Anna as an icon. How come that a man was considered not just by the people, but by you as an icon of the fight against corruption, went detained, and he hadn't even at that point been formally arrested, was actually put in Tihar Jail alongside Kalmadi and Raja, that created so much anguish that perhaps a million people all over India in the next 10 days came out progressively in protest. Can't you accept today that that was a terrible error of judgement?

Salman Khurshid:Let me tell you, it wasn't a million.

Karan Thapar: Altogether in 10 days?

Salman Khurshid: You go on for six months, it'll be even more. I'm not even talking about numbers. Please don't exaggerate and please don't build an emotional picture that's unacceptable.

Karan Thapar: But you're not answering my question.

Salman Khurshid: Let us be scientific, if there was micromanagement, I would imagine that our colleagues if at all they were involved, would have made alternate arrangements. If you're asking me, at the end of the day, did it look good cosmetically? My answer is no, it didn't.

Karan Thapar: So are you accepting in that euphemistic language that it was a mistake?

Salman Khurshid: I have said to you that he was sent by the order of the Magistrate.

Karan Thapar: Whoever's order it was, you could have told him to …


Salman Khurshid: I can't question a judge in this country, I'm not going to be on your provocation questioning a judge of the country. But I have said to you, whatever may have happened, whatever we may have done, the consequences of that may not have been what we would have desired. I'm prepared to accept that, and if I don't accept that.

Karan Thapar: That is euphemism.

Salman Khurshid: I don't know how many of your viewers are going to understand what euphemism means.

Karan Thapar: Well lets assume the viewers do and let's not question their intelligence.

Salman Khurshid: I'm not questioning their intelligence, I'm questioning your vocabulary not their intelligence.

Karan Thapar: I think they can follow the vocabulary of words. What I'm saying to you is this, a progression of mistakes by your government from April to…

Salman Khurshid: You can't.

Karan Thapar: Don't you want to answer questions that are difficult?

Salman Khurshid: If I wanted to stay away from difficult questions, I wouldn't have come to your programme. But please don't try to slip in the word mistake repeatedly by left to the right. I'm not going to accept that.

Karan Thapar: A series of decisions that many consider questionable ensured that hundreds and thousands came out, you converted through your decisions a protest into a mass movement, you created the problem that lasted for 13 days and traumatised India. Today with hindsight I'm asking you with good grace, can you not accept that your decisions were wrong?

Salman Khurshid: I said the consequences may not have been what we wanted them to be. If you want to use the word wrong, please go ahead, but certainly, I don't believe that everything that has happened in these days has been negative, I think some positive things have happened, we have gained something out of those positive things. I think for the future we can say that this will add to our understanding and knowledge of mass movements of the kind that we get in the 21st century.

Karan Thapar: And god what a lesson it's been. But let me put this to you, the country has been traumatised for 13 days, the country believes the government and senior ministers, will heads roll, will anyone in your government accept responsibility for the trauma India has been put through?

Salman Khurshid: I am prepared to accept if you think that something…

Karan Thapar: Are you offering your resignation on television?

Salman Khurshid: I'm not offering my resignation, I'm accepting responsibility. This is the problem. I don't accept, our government doesn't accept and Parliament doesn't accept that you should be sitting on channels deciding how government should function. You can advice, you can comment, but please don't tell us how government is to function.

Karan Thapar: I am not telling you how the government should function. I am pointing out mistakes that people believe you made which you deny. I am pointing out errors that lead to a nation wide movement that could have been restrained as a protest. Again you will deny

Salman Khurshid: Please understand. Let me give you words

Karan Thapar: Will anyone take responsibility and resign?

Salman Khurshid: Please ask the Prime Minister. You're not going to ask me - ‘is the Prime Minister happy with my work?', ‘Is the Prime Minister happy with someone else's work?', ‘Is the Prime Minister happy with our collective contribution?' The Prime Minister will be able to tell you.

Karan Thapar: You know what that sounds like - if the Prime Minister wants to sack someone so be it but no minister will accept that he or she was responsible and honourably offer to resign.

Salman Khurshid: I don't know. I cannot speak for anybody. I can only speak for myself. You are not interviewing the Cabinet, you are interviewing one minister. And I can only speak for myself. If errors of judgement have been made, errors of judgement are made whenever you are involved in a difficult situation. Error of judgements are not mistakes, please understand. I have a very clear understanding of this.

Karan Thapar: Error of judgements are mistakes that's only a equable to say they are not.

Salman Khurshid: They are not equable. Why would they have different words and different phrases if everything meant the same thing?

Karan Thapar: You know Churchill said a lie could be called a terminologically inexactitude. It is actually the same thing. Whether you call it an error of judgement or a mistake, it's the same thing.

Salman Khurshid: I am sorry.

Karan Thapar: Why the euphemism for the other?

Salman Khurshid: I am sorry, I am not prepared to accept that.

Karan Thapar: Okay my last question. The country has been through trauma, I've heard you defiantly refusing to accept you've made mistakes, no doubt you put up an extremely valiant defence for the government, your colleagues and cabinet would be extremely pleased and happy. But, for a moment, the people of India wanting a democratic accountability might be deeply dismayed. They might say ‘he's a brave minister, he faced up to tough questioning which perhaps his other colleagues aren't prepared to do but at the end of the day when he was asked a simple question - can you accept you made a mistake - pride and arrogance came before speaking the truth'.

Salman Khurshid: You use the word arrogance to often, I don't like it. I told you courage of conviction it is, faith in yourself. We are not pushovers. We might have made errors of judgement, and as I said we may have lost ground somewhere, but we are determined to get that ground back. We have, I believe, we have reached out to a remarkable man in a remarkable movement and we do want that movement to go forward and give India a much better scheme of things. We are determined it will happen.

Karan Thapar: Salman Khurshid, thank you very much for facing a hostile interview.

Salman Khurshid: Thank you.

Anna Hazare rules Indian cyberspace india

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare ruled Indian cyberspace during his fast demanding introduction of Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

Search engine Google produces 29 million results when a query is made by entering Anna Hazare’s name, while Sonia Gandhi’s name yields a little below 9 million results.

A page created in the Facebook on Anna Hazare has been liked by 3.64 lakh users against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s page which has 57, 291 likes.

An account created in the name of ‘Support Anna Hazare fast against Corruption’ attracted 1.45 lakh likes. There is also a Facebook page ‘I hate Anna Hazare’ and it has been liked by 4,137 users.

Mr. Hazare video from Tihar jail compound, recorded by Kiran Bedi, has nearly 1.6 lakh views in YouTube so far and was rated as the second most viewed video of this month in Indian news and politics category.

Number one slot was occupied by a video uploaded by an Indian on US debt crisis.

Similarly, another video on Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast against corruption was rated at Number 4 with nearly 1.65 lakh views.

Currently, SMSes containing words Anna Hazare or Corruption are the most circulated in the messages, according to web to mobile Free SMS service providers.

Nisha Parekh, vice president (international operations), SMS Country which runs 160by2.com, said out of 5 to 5.5 million SMS they handle everyday, nearly 1.5 million are messages related to Anna Hazare or corruption.

“We expect it to be around 3.5 million SMSes (Sunday) with regard to Anna Hazare ending his fast,” Parekh told PTI.

The social activist, finally, broke his fast on Sunday after Parliament’s decision to refer three of his demands -- citizen’s charter, inclusion of lower bureaucracy and creation of Lokayuktas through Lokpal bill -- for Standing Committee’s consideration.

Ten days ago, the 16by2 handled 1.34 lakh SMSes on Anna Hazare and the figure reached 2.6 lakh on Saturday.

160by2 has 13.3 million registered users, who use the site for sending bulk SMSes.

Currently, Anna Hazare and Corruption are the two most used words in messages sent via Way2Sms, another SMS service provider.

“Messages containing the words ‘Anna Hazare’ and ’Corruption’ have been delivered close to 13.5 million unique mobile subscribers in last 5 days via our way2sms,” V V Raju, CEO of Way2SMSsaid.

He said along with social networking portals, users are largely using way2sms to express their support to Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption and in the last 5 days, they observed close to 3 million people using the word ‘Anna Hazare’ in their messages.

Hazare’s protest awakened the non-political class: BJP

BJP on Sunday hailed Anna Hazare’s agitation as one which had awakened even the non-political class and insisted that such movements also have a place in democracy as they serve to change the status quo.

BJP felt Mr. Anna Hazare’s agitation had achieved much for democracy and empowerment of the people.

“This is a victory of democracy. It was a convergence of agitation on the street and debate in Parliament. People are feeling empowered after this which is a good thing,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told PTI.

He maintained that this has strengthened the fight against corruption that his party is waging.

“We also feel elated as awakening of people by this agitation will lead to the non-political class also joining the political process. As Arun Jaitley said in Parliament, this movement was against the status quo. People want change,” Mr. Javadekar said.

After some initial reluctance, BJP had come out in open support of Mr. Hazare when he began his fast. It even went to the extent of fully endorsing the Jan Lokpal Bill.

“People are emboldened now as more and more skeletons are coming out of the cupboard of this government,” Mr. Javadekar said.

Asked if this was truly a victory of Team Anna as several of its demands like keeping Prime Minister under ambit of Lokpal, passing the Bill in this session, inclusion of higher judiciary and so on have not been met, BJP maintained that this agitation was about the larger issue of having a strong and effective Lokpal.

“Hazare has succeeded in sending a message to the people and brought them out on the streets. The issue here was also the disgust of the people against corruption. Such non-political agitations also have a place in democracy,” Mr. Javadekar said.

Asked if Mr. Hazare’s agitation had challenged the supremacy of Parliament, Mr. Javadekar said speaking or going against the established norms is not against democracy.

“Such aberrations happen in a democracy but one should look at the solutions it leads to. The movement also showed reasonableness. Restraint and reasonableness was shown by the middle class as well as the politicians and this is the beauty and strength of democracy,” Mr. Javadekar said.

BJP congratulates Anna, says will support anti-graft fight

BJP on Sunday congratulated Anna Hazare for his successful agitation and assured him that the party would continue to extend support to his fight to make India corruption-free.

“I am glad that Anna Hazare has ended his 12-day fast this morning. The entire nation has heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God Anna’s life has been saved. We pray for his long and healthy life so that he can accomplish his dream of a corruption free India,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari said in a statement.

He described this as a “historic moment” for everybody who has been in the forefront of the crusade against corruption.

“I on my personal behalf and on behalf of the BJP congratulate Anna on his successful campaign against corruption. I join the countrymen in rejoicing Anna’s victory. It is a victory of democracy. People of India have won a decisive battle against corruption through peaceful means,” Mr. Gadkari said.

However, he maintained that the battle against corruption is not over yet and the fight shall continue.

“The monster of corruption is not yet completely eliminated. It can raise its ugly head again. We have to root it out from our system. Our campaign against corruption will continue till we achieve our goal,” Mr. Gadkari said.

Mr. Gadkari assured Mr. Hazare of BJP’s continued support, saying the party will stand solidly behind him in his “selfless endeavour to transform the society”.

“We promise you that the BJP will always be ready to rally around you and march forward under your leadership should the need arise any time in future to fulfil your dream of a truly democratic corruption free India,” Mr. Gadkari said.

The BJP president saluted Mr. Hazare for his deeds.

“Anna, rest assured, we will not let you down in and outside Parliament. Nor will we allow the government to betray you further,” Mr. Gadkari said.

The BJP president hit out at the government, saying it had no plans of agreeing to the demands raised by Mr. Hazare and it did so finally under pressure from the opposition.

“There was no intention of fulfilling Anna’s demands and the issue was being diverted to different topics by Congress politicians. We in BJP supported Anna. But even after that attempts were made to spread rumours that BJP was trying to avoid voting on the resolution,” Mr. Gadkari said.

He claimed that it was only after BJP agreed to vote and support a resolution to clarify its stand on the issue that the Congress was forced to agree and move ahead.

“I don’t want to comment on the politics of it. Whatever has happened has happened. Anna’s health is fine. The country needs Anna,” Mr. Gadkari said.

Celebrations in Mumbai as Hazare ends fast

Mumbai, Aug 28  Thousands gathered at the Azad Maidan since Sunday morning cheered as Anna Hazare ended his fast in New Delhi and 17 who were fasting here also called off their protest.

Amid loud cheers went up, the 17 broke their fast minutes after Hazare did. They had boiled jaggery water laced with glucose.

In spite of pouring rain, thousands packed the Azad Maidan.

Dhiraj Rambhiya of Tarun Mitra Mandal, a Jain group that deployed around 70 volunteers to care for those on fast, said: "Boiled jaggery water helps increase haemoglobin levels."

As many as 63 people, including seven women, started their hunger strike along with Hazare Aug 16. Many faced health related problems and had to be shifted to hospitals.

Till Thursday there were 19 people, including five women, who refused to break their fast until Hazare did.

Over the next two days, two people had to break their fast due to poor health.

Many wearing "I Am Anna" caps raised slogans like "Annaji ki jai ho" as Hazare called off the fast.

"It is a victory for people's power and democracy," said a student.

Hazare's village Ralegan Siddhi celebrated with songs, dances and merriment.

Mass media biased towards Anna Hazare's cause: Experts

There has been saturation coverage by television channels of Anna Hazare's fast reporting every twist and turn in the protest saga 24x7 for the last about two weeks. But has it been critical and unbiased or one-sided in approval?

By and large, media experts feel that television coverage was biased in favour of the 74-year-old activist, uncritical in its sweep and adulatory sometimes.

There was a lone voice of support for news television channels from noted journalist and Editor and Managing Director of Pioneer newspaper Chandan Mitra, who feels it was not the case.

"By its very nature, television is a very biased medium. Whenever a big issue or a campaign like this crops up, news channels try to be on top of it. This is the trend that prevails everywhere," says Bhaskar Rao, director, Centre for Media Studies.

"But unfortunately in the Anna Hazare case, I think TV channels have overdone it," Rao told PTI.

The main issue here is corruption, which is the elephant, but the media has given extensive publicity to "the elephant riders, which is Anna Hazare and his team", he said.

Concurs noted television commentator Karan Thapar, who says the media, especially the television, appeared to be siding with the Anna campaign and not fully representing the viewpoints of the government.

"They (TV channels) have been less than comprehensive in exploring the divisions or contradictions in Anna's side. They did not expose several of Anna's demands which may create serious constitutional problems," he said.

Echoing similar views, Vinod Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Outlook magazine, said, "I think the electronic media was just carried away by the populist mood and failed to be critical on some aspects of Team Anna."

"Team Anna played several tricks, including using the life of the Gandhian (Hazare) for some sort of leverage. The media should have revealed and discussed those to make their coverage a balanced one," Mehta said.

"There have been a lot of debates on how the government mishandled the whole issue, but hardly there was any such discussion to expose the weak points of the Anna campaign."

According to Thapar, what the media did do was to project the deep national concern over corruption.

"It reflected the anger and frustration of the people. But in terms of critical, objective and balanced coverage, it gave the impression of siding with Anna and of not fully representing the view points of the government."

On whether the media has been able to uphold journalistic ethics while covering the issue, the experts said they don't feel the media was not at their best.

"When it becomes a competition for TRP, ethics hardly comes into play," says Rao.

Thapar believes, "It seems the media has undermined the ethics a bit while trying to reflect the national mood, which they also have helped create and enhance."

"One role the media played was to ventilatepublic opinion, but in doing so they also played the role of encouraging and of siding with it, which is wrong," he said.

"There is a lot of introspection the media has to do on what and how they have to cover a big issue," Mehta added.

Mitra, however, has a different take on this. "I think the media has to reflect what the public mood is. Some excesses could have happened here and there, but I would not blame the newspapers or TV for that. I think the media did a good job in the entire thing," he said.

Omar Abdullah hails ending of fast by Hazare

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said the ending of fast by Anna Hazare was a victory for people’s power and showed the resilience of parliamentary democracy.

“It is a victory for people’s power and shows the resilience of parliamentary democracy. Both worked together to end Anna Hazare’s fast,” Mr. Omar told reporters in Srinagar.

The Chief Minister said it was now the job of parliament to carry forward the process of making a strong Lokpal which will help in weeding out corruption.

“Without Anna’s fast, we could not have reached here. The impetus to its (Lokpal) passage was given by his fast,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the 13-day-long fast by the noted social activist has shown what a peaceful protest and a strong leadership can achieve.

Earlier, Omar had refused to comment on Anna’s fast and even made sarcastic remarks about the extensive media coverage given to it.

“Am I wrong to be completely fed up of the back to back coverage of this whole Anna thing? I’m boycotting my TV and newspapers for a few days,” he tweeted on the third day of Anna’s fast.

A few days later, Mr. Omar wrote, “Since nothing is happening in the world other than Anna and I refuse to tweet about Anna ergo I can’t tweet about anything.”

Meanwhile, National Panthers Party (NPP) Chairman Bhim Singh also welcomed the end of deadlock between Centre and Anna Hazare but demanded inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir in the ambit of the Lokpal bill.

“We appreciate the initiative of the Prime Minister and welcome the development in New Delhi following the end of Anna’s fast,” Mr. Singh told reporters here.

The NPP Chief, however, said he regretted that neither the Parliament nor Team Anna have realised the gravity of situation prevailing in the state.

“Anna’s silence is shocking on this issue... the Lokpal should be applicable to this state, which is integeral part of the Union,” Singh said.

“People of this state should not be deprived of this law,” he added.

Naveen Patnaik appeals Hazare to break fast

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday appealed the Gandhian to end the 12-day long fast.

“I appeal Sri Anna Hazare ji to break the fast now. His health is a great concern for all of us,” Mr. Patnaik told reporters adding that his party (BJD) would like a strong Lokpal to be in place to fight corruption.

Stating that his government had been fighting against corruption in the State level, Mr. Patnaik said Anna Hazare’s agitation would help to eradicate the menace.

Meanwhile, protests in different parts of the State continued their fast, sit-in supporting Hazare’s campaign.

People from different walks of life comprising students, lawyers, women and even children came to the streets and expressed their support to Hazare’s agitation.

Lokpal logjam: Jail bharo says Anna Hazare

NEW DELHI: Blow hot, blow cold. In fact, the breeze that wafted from government turned so icy on Wednesday that it threatened to virtually deep-freeze the talks between it and Team Anna. Assurances held out on Tuesday were withdrawn and concern for Anna's health was dismissed, said Team Anna members, while government leaders told them that the parliamentary process wouldn't be shortened to rush through the Lokpal Bill.

Hopes of a resolution to the standoff dipped sharply as there was no movement on the sticking points. An all-party meeting appears to have emboldened the government as the meeting merely appealed to Anna Hazare to call off his fast while clarifying that they were against rushing through an amended Lokpal Bill. On its part, the government agreed to replace the current bill with a new legislation, incorporating some features of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Meanwhile, police presence has been sharply increased at the Ramlila Maidan, raising fears of the 74-year-old fasting Anna of being forcibly removed from the grounds. Kejriwal expressed the fears while appealing to the people to maintain peace. Government sources, too, admitted that that some "intervention" might become inevitable.

Late at night at 11.30pm, Anna addressed the vast crowd repeatedly urging it to ensure peace. He said if the government wanted to pick him up, he would readily submit to the authorities. Any violence, he said, would defeat their movement. He told his followers to embark on a "jail bharo" agitation if he was arrested and peacefully picket government leaders and MPs.

Speaking at an iftaar hosted by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh told journalists, "We are caught in a bind, and we have to get out of it." Government sources asserted that Jan Lokpal Bill can't be the sole reference point for an anti-graft law. They also rejected Team Anna's demand that the Lokpal bill be passed within the next four days after extending the current session of Parliament, bypassing scrutiny by the Standing Committee.

Emerging after a meeting with Pranab Mukherjee aqnd Salman Khurshid, civil society representatives said, "We are back to where we were, and we will have to start from scratch." Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi said that the government representatives also brushed aside any concern for Anna's health while saying that was the headache of the civil society activists.

The government has clarified that while Parliament was ready to consider the Jan Lokpal Bill, it would also consider other versions of the anti-graft bill like the one prepared by Aruna Roy's MCPRI. All these versions, said sources, would be vetted by the Standing Committee which would hammer out a "strong Lokpal Bill." In all this there was an obvious tacit admission: the bill earlier brought in Parliament by the government was virtually a lemon.

Government's tough posture on Thursday came against the backdrop of hardening of mood in the face of Hazare's pressure tactics. The decision not to give in was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs held after Team Anna's talks with Pranab Mukherjee and Khurshid. Sources said at the meeting home minister P Chidambaram strongly argued for a hardline in the government's dealings with Team Anna.

Responding to Anna group's demand that the bill be passed in four days after extending the Monsoon session beyond September 8, Manmohan Singh said on Thursday, "This is their suggestion. This does not mean we have to accept everything." Although he underlined "there is scope for give-and-take", the comment reflected a new firmness.