New Delhi:
The rain came down hard as Anna Hazare took centrestage at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to formally launch his mass-protest against corruption. 2000 people had spent the morning waiting to receive him as he made his way over from Tihar Jail atop a truck. En route, he prayed at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat. Thousands of people accompanied him, doubling what was meant to be a one-hour journey, and causing massive traffic jams.
(Read: Who is Anna Hazare?)"The whole country has to introduce change," Anna said, "for the aam admi, we have to fight back." Hundreds of flags greeted his demand for "a second freedom struggle" - a term he has used frequently in the last few weeks to characterize the India Against Corruption campaign that he is fronting.
Anna is now on the fourth day of his hunger strike. 'I have lost three kilos," he said, "but you are my strength." He added, "We need to stop politicians from looting our country." As he began his protest fast, Anna was examined by doctors. Team Anna has repeatedly said that his is not a "fast-unto-death but an indefinite fast"; Anna said he would not budge from the Ramlila Maidan "till we get a Jan Lokpal."
(Watch)The anti-corruption activist left Tihar Jail this morning after spending three nights there. Ramlila Maidan has been transformed into a base camp for his 15-day demonstration.
(Pics: Anna's journey from Tihar to Ramlila Maidan)When Anna emerged from prison, the cheers were so loud from the crowd of 2000 supporters that it was near impossible to hear the short speech he delivered. When he was done, he waved the national flag. Hundreds of smaller flags returned the gesture.
"We got freedom in 1947," Anna said outside Tihar. Referring to Tuesday, when he began his fast and was arrested for a few hours, he said, "Now the second freedom struggle has begun on August 16. A revolution has started. The fight against corruption will continue whether I am alive or not."
(Watch: At Tihar, Anna thanks people, waves tricolor)Anna's close aide and former cop Kiran Bedi had asked his supporters to let him travel alone to Rajghat and then onto Ramlila Maidan to avoid causing traffic jams. That request was ignored. The Delhi Police has asked commuters to avoid Ramlila Maidan. The crowd of 2000 people here is expected to surge in the next few hours.
(How to reach Ramlila Maidan?)Though Anna was told he could leave Tihar on Tuesday night, hours after he was arrested, he refused, launching a complex and extensive negotiation with the Delhi Police. What Team Anna wanted- and won after 24 hours of talks - was permission to hold a huge demonstration that would not restrict either the length of Anna's fast, or the number of people that could join the protest. It is a matter of huge relief for the government that Team Anna has said his fast is "not a fast unto death but an indefinite fast." A set of conditions imposed upon the mass-protest mandate that Anna will allow doctors from both a private and government hospital to examine him.
Since Anna was arrested on Tuesday morning, the country has responded with huge marches and candlelight vigils. The government has finally accepted that the 74-year-old Gandhian has been nominated by the country as the icon of the war against corruption. So the government will work behind-the-scenes to persuade Anna to cut short his fast. It will also try and engage with Anna's close aides, some of them from his home turf of Maharashtra, in new discussions.
What Anna has been pushing is his team's version of a new anti-corruption law that Parliament plans to debate during its current session. Team Anna says that the Lokpal Bill which provides for an independent investigating agency to handle charges of corruption - an ombudsman committee - is weak. Team Anna has developed a parallel version of the Lokpal Bill and wants the government to circulate this draft in Parliament too.
(Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill?)As a possible compromise, the government may request Anna to appear before a Parliamentary committee that's studying the Lokpal Bill.