 |
Swami Agnivesh compared Anna Hazare to Lord Krishna on the occasion of Janmashtami. |
Swami Agnivesh likened Anna Hazare to Lord Krishna on Monday, on the occasion of Janmashtami, and interestingly, a day after his colleague Prashant Bhushan warned against building a personality cult for the movement.
"Where was Lord Krishna born? In jail! And Anna came to Ramlila from Tihar jail!" Agnivesh said to a thunderous applause of approval from thousands who have gathered at the Ramlila Maidan. "Bhagwad Gita teaches us to fight for a just cause," he added.
The celebrations of Lord Krishna's birthday and Hazare's call against corruption mixed seamlessly in the estimated 40,000-strong crowd with protesters turning up in colourful gear, with candles and posters showing Lord Krishna and Anna together.
"We're praying to Lord Krishna through this protest to give us the Lokpal that we need," said Saurabh Kumar, a 24-year-old property dealer who had brought his two-year-old son dressed as the Hindu god. "I wanted him to see Anna. Instead of going to the temple with my family, we came here." With Monday being a holiday, a number of families turned up at the Ramlila Maidan to express solidarity with their brethren staying put at Anna's protest venue. It was a virtual carnival at the ground, as addition to free food, there was entertainment too. Renowned stand-up comedian Jaspal Bhatti cracked jokes, while singer Kailash Kher joined musicians from Haryana and UP to add anti-corruption lyrics to popular Hindi movie songs.
The atmosphere outside the park was no different with trucks with people dancing to the tune musicians driving around on open trucks. In the adjoining Walled City, usually very lively after sunset during Ramzan, people roamed about taking in the music, eating chaat or admiring the large variety of Anna merchandise on sale. Children were joined by their parents, who felt more comfortable on the road than in the vast crowded ground, in a small candlelight march.
The first bit of "official" support also poured in for Anna's movement on Monday with Inder Singh Namdhari, an MP from Chattra, Jharkhand, announcing his support for the Jan Lokpal legislation in a 15-minute speech at the Ramlila Maidan. Namdhari, introduced to the crowd as the first parliamentarian to join the effort, said he would work to convince his colleagues to take up Hazare's version of the Bill.
Delhi's lone RJD legislator Asif Khan also switched sides by resigning from the party and pledging support to the Gandhian social activist.
Mumbai, Congress MPs Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam also expressed their support for stronger Lokpal Bill Indications, in the meanwhile, emerged that Hazare and government may engage in a dialogue with the Gandhian asking a representative to be named for the purpose by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has expressed a willingness to have a reasoned debate on the issue.
Team Anna also asserted they had no intention to topple the government but defended the Gandhian's remarks that it should go if the Bill is not passed by August 30.
Arvind Kejriwal said: "We are inviting the government or any party, if they have any doubt, they can come and discuss it with us here in front of everyone." Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar met NDA leaders on behalf of Anna Hazare at senior BJP leader L. K. Advani's residence to discuss the Lokpal issue and garner Opposition support for the cause the Gandhian is fighting for.
Doctors who are keeping a tab over Hazare's health said his vital parameters are stable but the Gandhian has lost five kilograms ever since he launched his fast last Tuesday. Laboratory examination of Anna's blood and urine samples showed ketone particles.
Ketones are produced by the body during starvation, and are meant to provide an alternate source of fuel from fatty acids.
0 comments:
Post a Comment