Team Anna found itself at a crossroads in the city because of the lukewarm response from Mumbaikars who have earnestly responded to Anna’s fight against corruption.
Salim Khan, 24, works in a small footwear shop at Link Road in Bandra (West). To a customer who tries to bargain with him, Khan delivers a swift reply, “Please read the board: Fixed Price. Anna Hazare has said no bargaining please.”
Like Khan, several shop vendors and commercial enterprises in the city have been quoting the now oft-repeated principles of Brand Anna to support and reinvent their business practices. But none of them felt the need to pledge their support by shutting shop for a day and actually turning up at the MMRDA ground during Anna’s fast.
Thirty-five-year-old computer engineer Ravi Joshi said, “I agree with the fight against corruption which has been raised by Anna. But I don’t feel I should skip my work day to attend the demonstration. I don’t want to fall victim to hidden agendas of a handful of people managing Anna.”
An illiterate vegetable vendor outside Dadar station had a different perspective on the matter. He said, “We are committed to our pledge of not overcharging our customers. But we owe our loyalty to our local Sena leader. And he has not asked us to participate in the agitation.”
Team Anna found itself at a crossroads in the city because of the lukewarm response from Mumbaikars who have earnestly responded to Anna’s fight against corruption but were wary of becoming part of a hidden agenda with political overtones. Not surprisingly, on Wednesday, Hazare issued a clarion call to the people that Congress should be taught a lesson in the five-state assembly elections in January and February.
A senior NGO leader on condition of anonymity said, “Frankly, Anna’s projection as a modern-day Gandhi drew the elite to the Ramlila ground in Delhi. In Mumbai, Anna is not a known face. Team Anna has also gone into overkill mode which appears to have driven the masses away.”
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