Now, Anna Hazare seeks action against villagers protesting toll collection

On the other hand, the protesters, who are from the neighbouring Shirur taluka, said before they started the agitation they had visited Ralegan Siddhi and met Hazare who gave “his blessings” for the fight, while expressing his inability to physically participate in the protest as he was preoccupied with his movement against the land acquisition Bill.

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The protesters believe the toll plaza, which started collecting toll in February 2001, was supposed to stop the practice in 2012. However, they said, the government “unnecessarily” gave multiple extensions to the contractor thereby giving him financial benefit at the expense of common road users. The protesters are demanding government intervention to close down the plaza. The state government has closed down two other toll plazas in the taluka following protests by locals.

Shirur-based activist Sanjay Pachange, who is heading the anti-toll protest, said he was “shocked” to see that “his ideal” Hazare had made such a request and “sided with the toll operators”.

“On February 19, a delegation had gone to meet him (Hazare) in Ralegan Siddhi. We told him that we were going to start a protest against the unjust toll collection at the toll plaza on the Shikrapur-Chakan road. He told us that it was a just cause and we should go ahead. He told us that since he was preoccupied with his Jantar Mantar protest he would not be able to participate physically. Based on this, we had put up a banner at the protest site saying Hazare had supported our cause. There was nothing objectionable in this,” said Pachange.

Interestingly, Hazare had written a letter to the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan last year in support of another agitation by Pachange.

In June 2014, Pachange was on a fast-unto-death demanding inquiry into the build-and-transfer project for a state transport bus station in Shirur. Hazare had requested the CM to conduct an inquiry into the project as demanded by Pachange and others.

“Given my association with him (Hazare), I was shocked after we got to know about him siding with the road contractors. His stance confused me. On one hand he is appealing to the people to fight against injustice and here he is asking a toll mafia to act against us. Had he called me up and asked me to take off his banner, I would have happily obliged,” said Pachange.

When reached for a comment, Hazare’s aide Datta Awari said some representatives of the road contractor met Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi on March 2. After the meeting, Hazare directed his staffers to give the contractor this letter asking them to take action against the protestors.

When asked if the protesters had met Hazare on February 19, Awari denied to comment. Hazare couldn’t be reached directly for a comment.