Lucknow celebrates Anna's 'first round win'

Euphoria over Anna's release from Tihar jail was clearly visible on the streets of Lucknow, where people came out to celebrate what they termed as the "first round win" for the Gandhian.

Cries of "Anna nahi ye aandhi hai; aaj ke yug ka Gandhi hai (He is not Anna but a storm and today's Gandhi) rent the air as people swarmed some of the main thoroughfares of the state capital, beating drums and singing patriotic songs.

Cutting across age barriers, the young, the middle-aged and the old marched through the streets sporting Gandhi caps and holding the tricolor in hand. They hailed Anna's victory by distributing sweets even to passers-by who joined them raising pro-Anna slogans.

A large number of teachers from the Lucknow University and its affiliated colleges joined hands with students to form a long human chain to express their solidarity with the anti-corruption crusade launched by the activist. "In true Gandhian spirit Anna Hazare has compelled the government to realise that the masses are with him," remarked Lucknow University Teachers Association general secretary R N Singh.

"This is the real power of the people; after all a despotic government had to bow down before the wishes of the people", said Vaibhav, a second year university student who joined the human chain.

Meanwhile, the fast undertaken by activists of Indian Against Corruption continued on the fourth day at the Jhule Lal Park along the Gomati river banks, where people continued to converge in batches at all hours of the day until late evening. "We will continue with our fast as long as Annaji is sitting on fast in Delhi", asserted 40–year-old Akhilesh Saxena, whose wife and son too had joined his fast.

"People from different walks of life - teachers, students, doctors, lawyers, housewives and even daily wage earners, all are coming here to lend support to Hazare's anti-corruption movement," said IAC convenor R K  Agarwal.