Delhi not an option for agitation: Kiran Bedi

The winter cold in the national capital ruled it out as an option for Anna Hazare's agitation from Dec 27 for a strong Lokpal bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said today.

The winter cold in the national capital ruled it out as an option for Anna Hazare's agitation from Dec 27 for a strong Lokpal bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said on Friday.

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"Delhi is not an option because of the cold weather and you have to respect his (Hazare) age of 74. Not only Anna but there would be many others who would fast with him and people will stay back," Bedi told reporters in New Delhi.

"It's also for the health of the others that Anna cannot fast in Delhi, so we have to be in Mumbai," she added.

Bedi also reiterated Hazare's threat made earlier in the day that an agitation would be launched inside a jail if no space was available.

"As Anna said in the morning, if there is no space outside, he will fast in the jail," said Bedi.

Hazare was to fast in Delhi but the venue was shifted to Mumbai in the wake of the chill in the national capital. The venue in Mumbai has not yet been finalised.

While permission was denied for Mumbai's Azad Maidan, a rent of Rs.3.5 lakh per day plus a deposit has been quoted for the MMRDA ground, another proposed venue.

However, Hazare's India Against Corruption (IAC) group on Thursday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the rent demanded by city authorities for allowing it to hold its proposed protest at MMRDA grounds from Dec 27.

Bedi said that people had started registering online for the 'jail bharo' agitation from next week.