Last-minute rush to set the stage

Even as members of Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption (IAC) converged in Mumbai and volunteers rushed about making last-minute preparations and getting various government permissions, registrations from across India for the Jail Bharo Andolan crossed the one-lakh mark on Monday.

Even as members of Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption (IAC) converged in Mumbai and volunteers rushed about making last-minute preparations and getting various government permissions, registrations from across India for the Jail Bharo Andolan crossed the one-lakh mark on Monday.

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“Some crucial permissions such as cooking at the venue and stage permission from the Collector were pending, but we have now got all of them,” said Ruben Mascarenhas, an IAC volunteer.

The IAC’s special website —www.jailchalo.com — has received more than 1.3 lakh registrations, while there have been more than 8,000 SMS registrations.

As Anna made his way to Mumbai from his village, Ralegan Siddhi, the IAC core committee, which includes Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia, were present at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) grounds during the day to supervise the preparations.

On December 27, the rally accompanying Anna will start from Juhu beach after paying reverence to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The rally will pass through SV Road, from Juhu-Santacruz to Bandra and then reach the BKC ground.

For all three days of the agitation, IAC has planned various programmes. The stir for a stronger Jan Lokpal Bill has been organised by volunteers over a period of two months.

“Our request to all supporters participating in the agitation is to bring no baggage to the grounds due to security reasons. If they come without bags, entry would be easy. Those with handbags will have to go through security checks, which will be time-consuming,” said Bedi.

On Monday, Team Anna announced that supporters should agitate outside the homes of all Member of Parliaments (MPs) who don’t support a strong Lokpal Bill from December 30 onwards and that they should voluntarily court arrest.

“Volunteers should agitate outside those MPs’ homes who have failed to vote for a strong Lokpal. If police come to arrest them, they should give in peacefully. If they are released within 24 hours, they should again court arrest on December 31 and January 1,” said IAC’s Mumbai coordinator Mayank Gandhi.