Jantar Mantar goes back to its good old protests

A day after Anna Hazare ended his fast for the passing of an effective Jan Lokpal Bill, Jantar Mantar was a mere shadow of itself on Sunday.

A day after Anna Hazare ended his fast for the passing of an effective Jan Lokpal Bill, Jantar Mantar was a mere shadow of itself on Sunday. After the presence of more than a thousand people for five consecutive days, the city's favourite protest looked very different on Sunday.

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But Hazare and the strong public response seem to have inspired a few others.

So while Akshay Kumar Singhal from Allahabad has gone on a fast-unto-death against reservation for minorities and the underprivileged, Surjit Singh Dang of the Jagrat Bharat Party threatens to do the same starting April 14, if the government does not put an end to criminals in politics.

Jantar Mantar, however, did see its 'usual' protests and candle-light marches on Sunday. Students and alumnae of IIIT-Allahabad staged a protest and a candle-light march against their principal.

But life for an elderly couple returned to normal. "We have been sitting here for the last year. We are protesting against the lax laws for the safety of the elderly. When Anna Hazare came, we joined the protest for the first two days but it became very noisy later. So we left," said the couple, who are used to the serenity of Jantar Mantar. Both refused to reveal their names.

The place where the dais was on Saturday was filled by other protesters and a handful of policemen. And Jantar Mantar came back to look like it used to before Hazare came here.