'Govt will pay a heavy price for their arrogance'

Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and photographer Sanjay Sawant report from outside Delhi's Tihar Jail, which has turned into the epicentre of anti-corruption protests ever since Anna Hazare has been lodged there.

The scorching sun beats down mercilessly but the protesters outside New Delhi's Tihar jail are unrelenting. It is well past noon and they keep trickling in: in groups of three-four, in large swathes, women and men, children and grown up, elderly and middle aged, disabled and full bodied are challenging the 'might of an undemocratic government' that has arrested their leader for more than 30 hours now.

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Veteran social activist was lodged in Tihar on Tuesday after he was arrested before he could commence on his proposed indefinite fast to press for a stronger Lokpal Bill.

Although on Tuesday evening, the Delhi police issued a release warrant, the Gandhian has refused to come out of Tihar demanding an unconditional release and permission to continue his fast at JP Park in the capital.

Hundreds of his supporters have surrounded the jail showing solidarity for his cause.

Ishu Sharma, who runs a small computer institute in Delhi, suffers from muscular dystrophy and is wheelchair-bound. Her colleague and co-member of the 'flying wheelchair club' Neeru Gautam, suffering from a spinal disability, is wheelchair bound too.

But these two gutsy women have made their presence felt, outside Tihar, so that the government overcomes its blindness and releases Anna.

"Is the government blind? Can't it see what the people of India want? They want a strong law against corruption and this is what we will achieve soon," says Ishu.

Her friend Neeru too is confident that the Jan Lokpal Bill will be a reality soon and the Union government will have to call back its version of the bill.

They have been at Tihar since 10 on Wednesday morning but want to return home as they fear for police's highhandedness. "What if the police let loose their lathis on people? We will have nowhere to go," Neeru says.

Both strongly believe that once Team Anna's version of the anti-corruption law is enacted, India will be a better place to live in.

Sunil Rajbhaiyya, who works as a telecom engineer with Lucent Alcatel, begs to differ from most of the protesters gathered at Tihar since Anna was brought here.

"This is not Anna's fight. I am fighting for myself," he says in exasperation. "We needed a person to guide us and Anna's the one for people like me who have faced corruption instances in real life," Sunil says.

Sunil was asked by a public provident fund clerk for a bribe of Rs 1,500 to release his PF amount. "I told him I will not pay even 15 paise," he says. Now, after more than 20 months after Sunil left his previous employer, he is yet to get his PF amount.

"I have good fortune to at least eat two square meals a day," he says pointing towards the roti and vegetable curry that his wife had packed for him when he left home at 6 am on Wednesday to join in the protests.

"My children will not even get to eat this if the affairs of the nation continue to be run like this," he says pointing at the recent cases of corruption against ministers in the UPA government.

"Who told you I am here to support Anna?" he asks rhetorically. "I'm here to fight for my own better future," he adds.   

Sandeep Sharma, an engineer working with Reliance Digital, is an angry man and his employer had to face his wrath when he told them he would resume office only when the government releases Hazare from jail.

Like Sandeep, there are scores of college girls and boys, employed and self employed, who have come this afternoon to Tihar to make an impression on the government that their days in office are numbered.

Though not all were making political statements a few were shouting anti-government slogans. Sandeep had no fear in saying this on record: 'Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party will have to pay a heavy price for their arrogance and turn a deaf ear to what people are demanding.'

Baldev Gulati, a visually challenged employee with an NGO, is full of sarcasm that perhaps emanates from his frustration.

He sarcastically refers to "India's PM with a clean image Dr Manmohan Singh," as "Sardar Churchill".

Ask him the reason and he says "like the British PM Winston Churchill our Sardar Churchill is also turning a blind eye to what people want. We will have to remove this government sooner or later. Once that happens we would have won our second struggle for freedom."