Nationwide protests continued for the second consecutive day on Wednesday against the arrest of Anna Hazare, with political parties holding rallies in various states to press their demands that included a strong Lokpal Bill.
Protests were held in Mumbai as supporters of the Gandhian thronged the Azad Maidan in the southern part of the city, protesting the “undemocratic” manner in which the 73-year-old was taken into custody.
TDP supporters demonstrated across Andhra Pradesh against his arrest with the party chief former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu leading a dharna at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Secunderabad.Thousands of students in Karnataka skipped classes as they thronged Freedom Park in Bangalore at a rally, with former Supreme Court judge Santosh N Hegde, also joining the dharna.
In Indore, BJP workers staged a sit-in waving placards against the police action against Hazare.
Lawyers observed a one-day token strike in all the six district courts in Delhi protesting non-inclusion of judiciary in the Lokpal Bill among other issues, interrupting the proceedings in the 2G case.
The Orissa Assembly was adjourned twice amid uproar as BJP and ruling BJD MLAs condemned the police action.
In Tamil Nadu, a large number of people observed fast and more than 300 activists assembled at Adyar in Chennai under the banner of “India Against Corruption”, an umbrella body of the citizen’s movement fighting for a powerful Lokpal Bill.
Bihar unit of ‘India Against Corruption’ said in Patna that its members would start a wider contact programme in the state from tomorrow.
Unrelenting supporters of Hazare and BJP activists staged demonstrations across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh voicing their support for an effective Lokpal Bill.
In Jammu, hundreds of demonstrators converged on the Jammu-Pathankote highway at Traro area in the district and took out a protest while in Leh, a day-long dharna and a protest march were held.
Over 300 students of the North East Regional Institute of Science and Technology at Nirjuli in Arunachal Pradesh took out a procession in support of Hazare which culminated near the deputy commissioner’s office at Naharlag.