Maidan packed,Metro station turns protest venue

With long queues of Vande Mataram-chanting supporters choking exit gates on Sunday morning,Metro staff allowed people to pass through by just handing over their tokens,instead of waiting for the automatic exits to free up.

Many supporters were also drawn by the cool interiors of the station,as opposed to the crowded and sweltering Ramlila Maidan. Abha Tyagi and 55 of her classmates from an institute in Gurgaon were part of the demonstration inside the station.

“We reached the maidan around 11 am,but we were suffocating over there. We came here on our way back,” she said. Piyush from Dilshad Garden,part of a group sitting with placards near the steps leading to the platform,said: “The sun was a major reason. We stayed at the Maidan for two hours,and on the way back,we decided to sit here.”

Near the station exit and on the road leading to the Maidan,scores of hawkers sold campaign merchandise such as ‘I am Anna’ Gandhi topis,Tricolour flags,wrist bands and Anna masks. At the main entrance to the Maidan and the rear entrance,near the Delhi Stock Exchange,people stood in queues for hours to enter.

Mudul Das and Debjyoti Gogoi,students from Assam,said they started waiting at Gate 1 from 11 in the morning,but did not manage to enter even by 2 pm. “We will protest outside if we can’t enter,we don’t care,” they said.