Shifting stir to Mumbai a mistake: IAC

On Wednesday,while volunteers took to the stage at Ramlila Maidan to sing paeans to Hazare and Kiran Bedi exhorted the crowd to step up participation,there was despondency backstage. There was even talk about how if Delhi was indeed to be shunned because of the cold,going to Kolkata — the “real city for agitations” — may have been a better option than Mumbai.

Kolkata,incidentally,saw the lowest registration for the Jail Bharo agitation among all the metros.

“It was a monumental mistake to shift to Mumbai. Who would have thought it would be such a letdown. We have our own people here,a setup that has delivered twice before,” Sanjay Singh,a member of the IAC core committee,told The Indian Express. “Jagruk Nagrik Manch had promised great things but they have delivered nothing on the ground.”

Despite repeated attempts,Mayank Gandhi,IAC core committee member who is reportedly the link between IAC and Jagruk Nagrik Manch,was not available for comment.

The Jagrut Nagrik Manch denied the allegations that the protest in Mumbai suffered because of poor management. Praful Vora,convenor and trustee of the Manch,said in Mumbai that the event was well-organised but admitted that it suffered because of lack of support from the crowds on Tuesday.

“We put up a good event. We did everything we could to get all details in place before the protest and managed to organise the event even though we had very little time,” said Vora.

He also said that a few people had told him that the Mumbai event was better organised than the Delhi agitation in August.

Jagruk Nagrik Manch has been described as an affiliate of India Against Corruption though the IAC position officially is that there is no “organisation” in place beyond the 24-member core committee. The NGO had moved the Bombay High Court a few days ago asking for a place to fast and got Team Anna a rap on the knuckles for discussing a matter outside Parliament even as it was being debated inside. The move had irked Hazare but the NGO retorted saying they had got Prasant Bhusan’s clearance for moving court.

In a back-handed admission of the dwindling numbers,Kiran Bedi said: “Do not look at the numbers in terms of the people present. There are many who are following the movement on television and internet. We have made people aware,that is our success. Moreover the government’s betrayal has forced people to pause and think about the next step. They supported us in huge numbers last time but that did not yield any results.”

— With ENS,Mumbai