Anna's village Gram Sabha asks 14 people fasting in village to give up fast

The Gram Sabha of Anna Hazare’s village, Ralegan Siddhi, has directed 14 villagers to give up their indefinite hunger strike. The 14 villagers led by the village sarpanch, Jaisingh Mapari, were fasting for the last four days.

According to Takharam Raut, close aide of Anna Hazare and trustee of Hazare’s Hind Swaraj Trust, said that the villagers were happy that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had saluted Anna in Parliament.

“We are happy that the PM saluted the single minded determination of Anna and complimented his fighting spirit. We are also happy that Vilasrao Deshmukh, former chief minister of Maharashtra, met Anna with a special message from the Prime Minister. We are hoping that the government agrees to the three main demands put up by Anna so that Anna can give up his fast at the earliest,” Raut said.

Raut said that Friday morning would see the villagers conduct their routine prabhat pheri (morning walk) through the streets of the village at 8am in the morning. “We will wait to see what happens in New Delhi before planning our next move. When we see Anna actually breaking his fast, then we will celebrate his victory,” Raut said.

According to Raut, the villagers do not plan to go overboard with the celebrations as Anna had advised them to carry on with the agitation till the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed in Parliament.