India: Hazare calls off protest, to campaign against Congress party

Mumbai, Dec 28 (PTI) Poor crowds and failing health today forced Anna Hazare to end his three-day fast ahead of schedule as he also announced calling off all other agitation plans, including a jail bharo (fill the jail) protest and gherao (sit-in protest) of MPs' residence. The 74-year-old social activist leading a fight for a 'strong' ombudsman for the country made the surprise announcement midway through his three-day fast at MMRDA grounds here which reported poor attendance of people for the second continuous day, in stark contrast to the mass swelling in Delhi earlier this year during his three fasts. "...Whatever we are seeing today in Parliament is tragic. So I have decided to call off the fast today. There is only one way now. We will make a programme in the five states (going shortly for assembly elections) and go and awaken people there. I will tell them don't vote for traitors," he told a sparsely attended protest meeting in the afternoon. "Now two years are left for the general elections (to elect the next Parliament). In between, I will go to various parts of the country and keep awakening the people till next general elections," he said. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said, "Everything (all agitations) has been called off." The activist had earlier announced that he will come to Delhi on December 30 and sit on a dharna outside Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's residence to protest against the "weak" Lokpal followed by jail bharo agitation across the country. Hazare, who was running fever and was advised by doctors to call off the fast, and Team Anna members faced a volley of uncomfortable questions about the poor crowd response for last two days and what is perceived as their attempt to target Congress party and Sonia and Rahul on the Lokpal issue. Asked by a reporter whether he had to call off the fast because of poor crowds and why he was not able to attract people in large numbers, Hazare said, "This is not correct. I don't have power or wealth. Still people are coming in big numbers and you will see them again when we do campaign during elections." After his announcement that he and his team will campaign against Congress in the five poll-bound states early next year and later in the general elections, he was asked whether Congress was sought to be made a villain and whether the strategy adopted by them was not wrong. Hazare said they had no reasons to oppose other parties. "In the last five months, it was the UPA (coalition) government has betrayed us. They were betraying us again and again in the past one year," Hazare said. To a query by a reporter as to whether he will campaign against BJP which betrayed the Hazare campaign in Lok Sabha yesterday and whether Team Anna was not following a wrong strategy, Hazare said, "Congress has cheated them the maximum." Hazare abruptly quit the dais, leaving his aides Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to field searching questions from the media which was heckled by the crowds that had gathered there. PTI