Team Anna alleges media bias

The first half of Day three of Team Anna's agitation demanding a Jan Lokpal failed to draw much crowd just like the previous two days.Team Anna members blamed it on media bias and claimed TV news channels were not supporting the agitation, resulting in fewer people.

The first half of day three of Team Anna's agitation demanding a Jan Lokpal failed to draw much crowd just like the previous two days.

HT Image

Team Anna members blamed it on media bias and claimed TV news channels were not supporting the agitation, resulting in fewer people. There were barely a few hundred people at Jantar Mantar in the morning.

But the second half of the day witnessed a complete turn of events. India Against Corruption (IAC) campaigners had sent out messages to their supporters in Haryana, asking for more supporters. The crowds also swelled due to yoga guru Ramdev, who joined the protest later.

"We had conducted rallies during election campaigns earlier. We sent them messages and they came in large numbers from Panipat, Sonipat and Hisar, among other places," said an IAC member.

A senior police officer on duty said their numbers had shot to about 2,500 by 3pm. When Ramdev reached at 3.40pm, he brought along about 2,000 of his own followers.

"I came here to see Baba Ramdev. He is more energetic than Team Anna," said Anand Prakash, a Preet Vihar resident, at Jantar Mantar.

Resorting to populist dialogues, Ramdev said: "Half the Cabinet is in jail, rest are preparing for it.”