New Delhi, Aug.24: Anna Hazare today had an unusual visitor in a civil judge at Ramlila Maidan where Aruna Roy, a critic of the Gandhian for his protest on Lokpal Bill, and BJP MP Varun Gandhi also came calling to the surprise of the protesters.
Civil Judge Ajay Pandey, who sits in the Tees Hazari court, raised eyebrows when he said, “I have been a judge at the Parliament Street court and other places and have closely seen how corruption prevails and mighty people are let off.”
Pandey said he was not afraid of any consequences for coming on a public forum as he has done no wrong. “I am one amongst the public. Why should I be afraid? When the country is here how can one remain away. I think it was my duty to come here and support the fight against corruption and I did it,” he said, as Hazare's fast entered the ninth day.
Yoga guru Ramdev was also at the Ramlila Maidan to extend support to Hazare's movement for a strong Lokpal, nearly two-and-half months after he was evicted from the grounds in a midnight crackdown.
Ramdev said he was with the 74-year-old Gandhian for an hour to extend solidarity in his “fight against corruption” and make the system “transparent”.
“The logjam(in talks) should end soon,” Ramdev said.
Roy, a National Advisory Council (NAC) member, met the Gandhian along with her associates.
“We are concerned about Anna. We have old links with him,” Roy told reporters here. It was Roy's first meeting with Hazare after he began his indefinite fast on August 16.
Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan said Roy is a well-wisher of Hazare and had come to meet him.
Roy had recently criticised Hazare for “deriding” democratic institutions and alleged that he was “ill-advised”.
In an apparent reference to Hazare setting a deadline to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, she had said, “I think Annaji is ill-advised...any who says my view should be the only view is wrong.”
The National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), with which Roy has been associated, has prepared a version of Lokpal Bill and presented it before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice and Varun Gandhi, who has given a notice in Lok Sabha for tabling Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill as a private members' bill, sat in the protesters' enclosure.
Wearing a green kurta and sporting a tricolour badge, the 31-year-old Philibit MP came to the ground around 8:30 am. “I have come here as a common man,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who has been vocal in his support for Hazare's movement, said his visit had nothing to do with his party.
‘Peepli Live' actor Raghubir Yadav, who is the latest from Bollywood to support Hazare's anti-corruption campaign, regaled the crowd with the popular song ‘Mehangai dayan, khaye jaat hai' from the Aamir Khan-produced film. And he did not miss out in sending a message.
“Peepli Live was a very small effort and venture. Thousands of peepli lives can be assimilated in this movement led by Anna Hazare,” Yadav said. PTI
