Protesters disrupt Congress dharna

Anna supporters threw water bottles at Congress workers; the latter kept waving and smiling amicably

Protesters disrupt Congress dharna

Anna supporters threw water bottles at Congress workers; the latter kept waving and smiling amicably

Things couldn't have gone more wrong for the Congress workers. Thousands of Anna supporters marching from India Gate booed and shouted anti-Congress slogans when they passed by a bunch of party workers sitting on a dharna at Jantar Mantar. Banners put up at the venue were torn and empty water bottles were thrown at the workers. Not realising how to react, the workers kept waving with a smirk on their faces.

Protest vs protest: The Congress workers sitting on a podium, on
an indefinite strike, while the Anna supporters raise slogans, at Jantar
Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday. pic/Mid Day

Fearing that things might go out of control, some people volunteered to form a human chain and requested the crowd to carry on the march peacefully. The entire episode continued for almost four hours, till the mob finally dispersed.u00a0 The Congress workers were sitting at the exact spot where Anna held his protest a few months ago.

Sameer Srivastava, who took a day off from office for the protest, said, "Congress government has done nothing in the last couple of years except price rise and corruption. We all support Anna. Those sitting here are real politicians. We are calling them cheats and they are laughing."

"It would not be wise to dirty our hands by throwing bottles and tearing their banners. If we also started behaving the same way, there won't be any difference," said Rajeev Suri, a diamond businessman, who came all the way from Ahmedabad.

The Congress workers, however, denied everything. "Theu00a0 police protected us, not Anna supporters. As it is, no one shouted anti-Congress slogans. They smiled at us, so we waved back," said Chandra Shekhar Azad, a Congress worker.