Waving the tricolour, shouting slogans and singing songs, hundreds of people hailed the 10 individuals as they ended their fast that began on April 5 demanding the tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament. “
After five sombre days, jubilation erupted at Freedom Park as the cries ‘Vande mataram’, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Jeet gaya bhai jeet gaya, aam admi jeet gaya’ rent the air.
Waving the tricolour, shouting slogans and singing songs, hundreds of people hailed the 10 individuals as they ended their fast that began on April 5 demanding the tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament. “We will fight till our last breath,” they cried out.
Veteran freedom fighters Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi and HS Doreswamy were among them. “I want to see many developments like this,” said a teary-eyed, 113-year-old Chaturvedi.
At one point, the protestors even thought of marching to the chief minister’s house to voice their demand to give more powers to Lokayukta Santhosh N Hegde and to extend his term.
The plan was dropped when one of the activists announced that Kiran Bedi had asked the crowd not to stage the march. Hegde is in the joint committee that would be drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill. Hence, there is no need for them to go to the chief minister’s doorstep, she told them.
But the crusaders were determined to send across one message: “If our demands are not met, we will grow 10 times this size.” Residents’ welfare associations and individuals pledged “never to give bribe and never to allow anyone else to give bribe or take it”.
Musicians added colour to the event. Artiste Bruce Lee Mani sang his version of John Lennon’s Imagine. “You may say I am a screamer, but I am not the only one…,” he sang concluding it with “Work has just begun”.
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