Team without Anna makes presence felt
27 Aug 2012 1:43 AM GMT
Despite falling short of expectation in garnering numbers, the India Against Corruption (IAC) team members put up a spirited protest on Sunday at several places in Lutyens' Delhi, targeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari.
The protesters, largely consisting of young men and women, were detained twice and released by the police in the evening. Refusing to heed the police directions to not cross barriers on the roads leading to the residences of aforementioned leaders, they were finally dispersed using tear gas shells, water canons and also mild cane charge at few places.
The police, however, did not allow the situation to go out of control, thanks to much less number of people who joined the march. The police said that 900 protesters were arrested and five cases of rioting were registered against them. The police claimed that 15 cops and six people from public were injured during the protest. The six metro stations in central Delhi, which were to remain closed due to security concerns over the protest, remained open throughout the day.
Arvind Kejriwal, who was at the head of the main group of agitators at the prime minister's 7, Race Course Road, residence, stated that their protest would continue against both the Congress and the BJP. The prominent IAC member Kiran Bedi, who differed with Kejriwal on painting the BJP and the Congress with the same brush, skipped the rally.
The IAC supporters played a cat and mouse game with the police, as they came out on the street at 6 am, four hours before their scheduled plan to march to the residences of the leaders. They, however, were picked up by an alert police and brought to the Mandir Marg police station. Later, the police released them after warning them not to continue with the march.
However, they gathered again at Jantar Mantar, where Kejriwal announced that they would again march towards the leaders' houses by 12 noon. The crowd, however, also had people who claimed themselves supporters of Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi and criticised Kejriwal for trying to shift the focus of the people from corruption by protesting against all the parties. 'They should only corner the ruling government,' said Ashok Kumar, a supporters of Anna Hazare. But they were pushed out from the Jantar Mantar by the supporters of Kejriwal.
Addressing his supporters, Kejriwal said, 'When Raj Thackeray takes thousands of his supporters without permission for a protest, the police provide protection. What kind of politics is this? We will attempt to lay siege again. We want to give message to both the Congress and the BJP.'Â Kejriwal said his political revolution would sweep the whole country in times to come.
At around 1.30 pm, after the crowd grew substantially large, the IAC once again started the march.
The protesters, largely consisting of young men and women, were detained twice and released by the police in the evening. Refusing to heed the police directions to not cross barriers on the roads leading to the residences of aforementioned leaders, they were finally dispersed using tear gas shells, water canons and also mild cane charge at few places.
The police, however, did not allow the situation to go out of control, thanks to much less number of people who joined the march. The police said that 900 protesters were arrested and five cases of rioting were registered against them. The police claimed that 15 cops and six people from public were injured during the protest. The six metro stations in central Delhi, which were to remain closed due to security concerns over the protest, remained open throughout the day.
Arvind Kejriwal, who was at the head of the main group of agitators at the prime minister's 7, Race Course Road, residence, stated that their protest would continue against both the Congress and the BJP. The prominent IAC member Kiran Bedi, who differed with Kejriwal on painting the BJP and the Congress with the same brush, skipped the rally.
The IAC supporters played a cat and mouse game with the police, as they came out on the street at 6 am, four hours before their scheduled plan to march to the residences of the leaders. They, however, were picked up by an alert police and brought to the Mandir Marg police station. Later, the police released them after warning them not to continue with the march.
However, they gathered again at Jantar Mantar, where Kejriwal announced that they would again march towards the leaders' houses by 12 noon. The crowd, however, also had people who claimed themselves supporters of Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi and criticised Kejriwal for trying to shift the focus of the people from corruption by protesting against all the parties. 'They should only corner the ruling government,' said Ashok Kumar, a supporters of Anna Hazare. But they were pushed out from the Jantar Mantar by the supporters of Kejriwal.
Addressing his supporters, Kejriwal said, 'When Raj Thackeray takes thousands of his supporters without permission for a protest, the police provide protection. What kind of politics is this? We will attempt to lay siege again. We want to give message to both the Congress and the BJP.'Â Kejriwal said his political revolution would sweep the whole country in times to come.
At around 1.30 pm, after the crowd grew substantially large, the IAC once again started the march.
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