BeyondHeadlines Staff Reporter
New Delhi: As members of the civil society led by Anna Hazare burnt copies of the Lokpal Bill after it was introduced in Parliament yesterday and reiterated their indefinite hunger strike from August 16 onwards at Jantar Mantar, the Delhi Police said they would “wait and watch.” Authorities said they had taken Anna Hazare into confidence and were in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to resolve the issue.
Delhi Police had denied permission to the civil rights group to organise a protest at Jantar Mantar three days back.
Going back on his earlier stand, Hazare had written a letter to the Delhi Police last week saying that the protest would continue for a month but he could not specify the number of people who would be attending it.
Earlier Hazare had organised a protest at Rajghat on June 8 conceding to the suggestions of Delhi Police. The group wanted to protest at Jantar Mantar against the forceful eviction of protestors at Ramlila Maidan and the Delhi Police had denied permission citing section 144 CrPC, prohibitory orders.
“We are continously in touch with the members of the group and will take them into confidence before taking any decision. Jantar Mantar is not possible as the area will be prone to security threats and we do not want any untoward incident to take place,” said a senior police officer.
Delhi Police had written a letter to the activist and his team members a fortnight back and asked them to give specific details; like the number of people who would attend the protest and the number of days it would continue.
Four days ago, team Anna replied that their strike would continue for at least a month. After receiving the letter, Anna submitted a letter at the police commissioner’s office on Tuesday where they suggested five alternate venues. These venues are- the Ashoka Road-Raisina Hill road (close to the house of BJP MP Maneka Gandhi), Boat Club, Ramlila Maidan, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park (ITO) and Rajghat. Police said they are yet to take a decision on these venues.
