NCP activists protest Anna's take on Pawar attack

Angry over Anna Hazare's statement on the attack on Union Minister Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party supporters on Friday staged a protest at the Gandhian's native village in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.

Several slogan-shouting workers of Pawar's party reached the Yadav Baba temple, once the abode of Hazare, and demanded that the anti-graft campaigner apologise for his remark made on Thursday after a youth slapped the NCP supremo to protest corruption and price rise.

As the protest continued, a number of villagers, including some women, arrived on the scene and halted the march of NCP supporters.

A police contingent present for providing security to Hazare intervened to calm frayed tempers.

Later, the NCP supporters sat on a dharna outside the temple.

Hazare's aide Suresh Pathare, criticised the NCP workers for their demonstration terming it as nautanki.

"They can burn an effigy of Anna ji if they so desire, but they should stop this nautanki. Some of them were taking 'darshan' of Anna last night. They are doing it all in view of the coming local bodies election," he said.

Hazare had on Thursday tied himself in knots with his reaction to the attack on Sharad Pawar first appearing to respond with contempt and later condemning it.

"He got slapped! Only one slap?" he said to a group of journalists who broke out in laughter at his reaction.

But later coming out of the room, he condemned the incident saying such acts of violence were not good.

"He (the attacker) may be very angry. This is not good. Anger is not good. Our Constitution does not tell us to be violent with anyone," Hazare had said.