Will seek donations to book Mumbai venue: Anna

Hazare said his close aides Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi will join him in his fast in Mumbai while another group of activists will go on hunger strike in Delhi in support for a strong Lokpal Bill.

He said it was wrong on part of his supporters to approach the court seeking concession for the venue and that if they had sought his opinion,he would not have allowed them to seek judicial intervention.

“The Azad Maidan area is not enough. MMRDA has said they would reduce the rent. They said if your organisation is registered,then we will reduce the rate. People have already offered to donate Rs 2 lakh. If people are ready to donate and MMRDA is ready to reduce the rent,I asked them (supporters) to take it,” Hazare told reporters.

Hazare’s remarks came as Bombay High Court rejected Team Anna’s petition seeking direction to the Maharashtra government to allot the MMRDA ground for free or at concessional rates for Anna Hazare’s fast. The court said it could not come to the conclusion if the agitation was in public interest or politically motivated.

“We can’t allow parallel canvassing when Parliament is seized with debate on the Bill… Till now the Bill has not been passed. No one knows what form and what features it will have. Is public debate permissible at this stage?” the court asked.

Asked about the activists approaching court for concession in rent,Hazare said,“They are new people. They might have got it wrong. If they had asked me I would have told them not to approach court. Going to court was wrong.”

Hazare alleged that many leaders do not want a strong Lokpal. “The new legislation should be prepared only with consent of the people of India,” he said.

Demanding that CBI be brought within the ambit of Lokpal,he said,“Had there been a strong Lokpal,then P Chidambaram would have been in jail.”

Earlier in the day,Hazare threatened he would fast in jail if authorities fail to give him a venue in Mumbai to protest against a “weak” Lokpal Bill.

Queried about opposition by Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav,he said the government does not have intention to pass the Bill.

“We have full faith in Parliament. There are two ways before us if a strong Lokpal is not passed. I will campaign against the government in the five poll bound states. Then two and half years later when the Lok Sabha elections come,I will again tour the country to campaign against them,” he said.

He said the activists will also gherao the residences of MPs as part of the agitation.

Meanwhile,Team Anna launched an online campaign for their ‘jail bharo’ agitation against government’s Lokpal Bill wherein people can register themselves for the protest.

Team Anna claimed that over 25,000 people have registered for the agitation through online alone till this evening with Maharashtra and Delhi topping the list with over 4,000 each.