Crowd comes out for Anna
The unscheduled arrival of social activist Anna Hazare at Rajghat on Monday evening brought hundreds of supporters sending the police into tizzy. Even tourists, including foreigners, thronged to witness the spectacle, as Mr Hazare sat just in front of the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
Even the light drizzle did not discourage Mr Hazare’s supporters to join him in silent prayers. “We saw on TV that Anna was sitting at Rajghat and we rushed to extend our support to him. This is not just his fight but even ours,” said Ramchandra Goswami, an elderly in his late 60s.
Mr Hazare took an extraordinary step by reaching Rajghat for a silent prayer at 3.30 pm with the police caught napping. Mr Hazare was also joined by his close associates Arvind Kejariwal and Manish Sisodiya. One unknown supporter sat with Mr Hazare when the crowd chanted Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.
The media persons followed Mr Hazare to Rajghat and within few minutes a crowd of more than 500 supporters arrived at the venue. The Delhi police also sent its team after getting the information about the development. Mr Hazare started his silent prayer and sat on the ground at around 3.45 pm, with his supporters circling him at a distance. His silent prayer lasted about two and a half hour and as soon as he rose, the supporters thronged to him. As Mr Hazare started walking towards the gate at 6.30 pm, a huge crowd of his supporters ran towards him shouting slogans in his support. Some of Mr Hazare’s team member formed a circle around him to escort him safely. However, the crowd was so huge that the police had to intervene. The police officers then escorted Mr Hazare to his vehicle.
“We received the information about a huge crowd of Anna followers entering Rajghat and to maintain the law and order we immediately sent our teams to the spot. Then our officers escorted Anna to his vehicle,” said a senior police officer, adding that any one can sit at Rajghat for prayers.
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