Anna crusade losing steam?

After a lacklustre response on the first day of Team Anna's anti-graft agitation at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, day two of the protest fared no better.

After a lacklustre response on the first day of Team Anna's anti-graft agitation at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, day two of the protest fared no better.

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Till about 3pm on Thursday, the venue saw less than 1,000 supporters. The gathering gradually grew to about 1,800 people by the evening. The poor turnout has given rise to a key question — 'Has Team Anna failed to draw crowds this time?'

India Against Corruption (IAC) core committee members Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai are on a fast-unto-death since Wednesday demanding a strong Lokpal.

An apparently worried Kiran Bedi, referring to women watching the campaign on television from home, said: "Are you afraid of coming here? Are you ashamed of coming here? Come tomorrow, we will have separate enclosure for women."

Thursday's gathering, too, comprised people from rural areas and some from the north-eastern states. They were joined by their counterparts, mostly Delhiites, in the evening.

Students, who were few and far between, felt disappointed at the lukewarm response of the government. "There are unemployed youngsters, students who have bunked college to be part of this. But it is extremely disappointing to see no one from the government cares," Shahid Tak, a Delhi University student said.

For most part of the day, Kejriwal was missing as he had gone to Bulandshahar, 80 km from here, after a court summons in connection with his "derogatory remarks" against MPs and the Parliament.

In the evening, social scientist Yogender Yadav said Team Anna cannot keep away from politics for long. "You can neither turn away from politics nor become an alternative to it. What you need to do is 'politics of alternatives'," he said.

One of the protesters, Harilal, complained of chest pain and was rushed to RML hospital.