Senior members of the Gandhian's team have revealed that nearly 3,000 supporters were stationed near Ramlila Maidan around the clock to thwart any attempts to evacuate protestors or discredit the movement as had happened with Baba Ramdev in June earlier this year
Senior members of the Gandhian's team have revealed that nearly 3,000 supporters were stationed near Ramlila Maidan around the clock to thwart any attempts to evacuate protestors or discredit the movement as had happened with Baba Ramdev in June earlier this year
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While Team Anna's near-perfect organisation and execution of the Jan Lokpal Bill movement has been widely lauded based on the available information, MiD DAY has learnt that the groundwork was much more extensive than has met the eye.
Senior officials from the Anna Hazare-led Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan have revealed that a nearly 3,000-strong army of supporters was stationed around the Ramlila Maidan from August 16 to prevent a recurrence of protestors' forceful evacuation from the ground as had happened with Baba Ramdev and his supporters in June.
Taking another lesson from the yoga guru's agitation, a team was also working behind the scenes to prevent any authority, government or otherwise, from attempting to discredit the movement by launching a campaign of malignment against Anna and his close advisors.
"The strategy was worked out in order to thwart any attempt by the government and the Delhi police to sabotage the movement. The dedicated force was there to keep round-the-clock vigil at the Ramlila Maidan and prevent any attempt to defame or derail the agitation.
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We have been more than successful as the agitation passed off peacefully and in a non-violent manner, as planned," said Ashok Sabban, vice president, Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan, who is part of Anna's team since 1994.
Sabban said close to 300 people of the 3,000 were from his district and they were trained to deal with any situation.
According to another close associate, who did not wish to come on record, the strategy was the fallout of the UPA government's attempt to defame Hazare.
"Soon after the dates of the agitation were announced, we noticed that teams of officials from the State and the Centre visited Ralegan Siddhi and nearby areas to gather information about Hazare and the trusts he is associated with," said the associate.
"This smacked of foul play and our suspicions were confirmed when Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari made some allegations against the Gandhian related to the findings of the P B Sawant-led inquiry commission.
Tiwari had alleged that Hazare was guilty of corruption for the Rs 2.2 lakh spent on his birthday celebrations," he added.
While Sabban said Hazare would return to Ralegan Siddhi within a week, Col Dr Ramesh Wasudev, treasurer of Hazare's trust, said they would begin planning for future programmes such as pressing for electoral reforms while maintaining pressure on the concerned authorities for the Lokpal Bill.
Bureaucrat's take
A retired secretary of state from the Law and Judiciary Department, who also handled the Parliamentary Affairs Department for a few years said Hazare's breaking his fast translated into a victory for the government as well.
"The 'in principle' approval of three demands conveyed to Team Anna through the sense of the house is not binding on the Standing Committee. The committee still reserves the right to reject these demands," he said.
Citing the lack of a deadline set by the government and of a commitment to include the PM within the Lokpal's ambit, the bureaucrat said that the agitation showed that vox populi cannot be the sole criterion of a Parliamentary decision.
"The agitation has proved that emotions have no meaning unless backed by the will of the legislature, and most importantly, the executive cannot run on an agenda fixed by outsiders," he added.
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