For poor, livelihood bigger fight than corruption

Ranjit Kumar, an ice-cream vendor at Jantar Mantar, considers Anna Hazare his lucky mascot. Reason: Hazare's five-day fast went a long way in increasing his sales.

Ranjit Kumar, an ice-cream vendor at Jantar Mantar, considers Anna Hazare his lucky mascot. Reason: Hazare's five-day fast went a long way in increasing his sales. "I came here so that I can have higher sales," said Kumar, who came to Jantar Mantar from Paharganj when he heard of the veteran Gandhian's fast.

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Although he knew the protest was against corruption, he does not have any second thoughts about bribing a policeman if
it was the only way to earn his living.

"I have to pay Rs400-500 every month to policemen for letting me put my ice-cream trolley in Paharganj, near the railway station," he said.

When asked if he would approach the Lokpal (ombudsman) once it is formed, his answer was a quick no.

"If I go to complain, the officials will come to know and I will lose whatever I earn. Even the action (by the Lokpal) will take a year or so. Till then, I can't go hungry," he said.

For Kumar and many other vendors like him who put up their stalls near Jantar Mantar and India Gate-the two epicentres of the protest-earning a livelihood was a bigger problem.

Rahmatulla, who sells snacks at India Gate, in fact was surprised when he heard the word Lokpal. When he came to know about the proposed anti-graft bill, he said: "How can I complain about anyone? I have to work everyday and if I go to complain, I will lose a day's earnings."

But auto driver Raju Sharma was clued in about the agitation. "I hope corrupt officers and politicians are punished soon," he said.

Then there was the 12-year-old Raju who did not even know what the word corruption meant. He works in a juice shop hardly a kilometre from Jantar Mantar.

For shop-owner Rawat too, corruption wasn't that big an issue. "Our relations with people are such that we never face any problem," he said.