In Delhi, thousands of Hazare supporters chanting patriotic songs and carrying placards took out a rally from the historic India Gate and marched close to Parliament House to express solidarity with the 73-year-old Gandhian in his crusade against corruption.
According to reports from the state capitals, workers of political parties held rallies in various states to press for a strong Lokpal Bill.
Protesters stopped the Gujarat Express at Udhna station in Surat for 30 minutes while school children in Varacha area of the city took out a march in support of Hazare's anti-corruption movement.
A report from Pratapgarh said a train was stopped by some social activists. Candlelight marches were held in Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Goa among other cities with people from different walks of life venting their anger at the Delhi police action and speaking passionately on the urgent need to end corruption.
Supporters of the Gandhian thronged the Azad Maidan in Mumbai and falyed the “undemocratic” manner in which Anna Hazare was taken into custody.
Mumbai
Thousands of flickering candle flames threw dancing shadows on the silent serene green glades of IIT–Bombay on Wednesday night as students formed a five-km long human chain and chanted slogans against corruption.
Dinesh Joshi, a research scholar at IIT (B) said of the total 7,000 students at the institute, over 5,000 of them turned out late evening. “It is just a spontaneous reaction from the student community against the suppression of civil rights and corruption,” he said, adding that some students were also observing relay fasting. Students also formed a human chain through lanes inside the heavily wooded campus.
Chandigarh
As support for Team Anna swelled on day 2 of the protest against his arrest in Punjab and Haryana, the picket got support from unexpected quarters — the “all-powerful” Khap (caste) panchayats.
The controversial panchayats held a meeting in Jind district of Haryana on Wednesday pledging support to Team Anna in its crusade to fight corruption.
Lawyers in the state capital Chandigarh held rallies in Anna’s support. Advocates of the Punjab and Haryana High Court suspended work expressing their solidarity. All demonstrations in the city were peaceful and no untoward incident was reported.
Jaipur
The support for Anna Hazare swelled on the second day of his arrest on Wednesday as various organisations came out in support of the Gandhian leader’s demand for a strong Jan Lokpal and to protest his arrest.
The lawyers of the lower and High Courts shunned work in support of Anna Hazare while various professional and trade organisations joined the fast and expressed solidarity with the rest of the nation. High Court Bar Association General Secretary Kapil Mathur said the advocates expressed solidarity with Anna and his team and had sent a memorandum to the President calling for a strong anti-corruption law.
Bhubaneswar
The monsoon session of the Orissa assembly took off in a stormy note here on Wednesday, thanks to the developments in New Delhi on the Anna Hazare front.
As soon as the Question Hour began, the opposition members marched into the well of the House. This was opposed by the Congress whose members wanted to raise the ongoing people’s agitation against a power project in western Orissa. The BJD members were also heard shouting pro-Hazare slogans. Speaker Pradip Amat adjourned the House till afternoon when some BJP legislators made an attempt to force their entry into the Speaker’s podium.
Lucknow
Support for Anna Hazare swelled Wednesday across Uttar Pradesh as employees of government offices, banks and public sector undertakings as well as lawyers suspended work to join street protests in support of the now jailed anti-corruption crusader.While reports of people taking to streets to express solidarity with Hazare poured in from different cities, huge crowds were seen in the state capital.
Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday came out in open support of the anti-corruption movement launched by Gandhian activist Anna Hazare.“I wholeheartedly support the issues raised by Anna Hazare,” she said.
Chennai
Support for veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare swelled here Wednesday with large number of people from varied walks of life pledging support. “Around 5,000 people visited the protest venue today (Wednesday) till 4 p.m. More office-goers are expected after the office hours,” Bhavana Upadhyaya of India Against Corruption (IAC), the outfit backing Hazare, said.
The IAC is holding protests at a construction site and people are fasting inside the multi-storied building.Bhavana said that out of the 36 people on indefinite fast, a 55-year-old was hospitalised while the number of people on relay fast has increased to 100.
Patna
Hundreds of people demonstrated in various parts of Bihar Wednesday in support of Anna Hazare.
Some people staged a sit-in and went on a hunger-strike at Kargil Chowk near the historic Gandhi Maidan.Others marched in various places of the city, shouting slogans against the Congress-led union government and denouncing the police action against Hazare and his supporters.”People gatherted at several places for the second consecutive day to express their support to Anna and protest action against him,” a police official said. Anna was arrested on Tuesday ahead of his fast and then subsequently released.
Anna appeals for peace
As talks between the government and Team Anna continued over the location of Anna Hazare’s fast, the civil society leader on Wednesday appealed to the people to maintain peace and calm.
“I appeal to people to maintain peace and calm and join us in the fight against corruption,” senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan quoted Hazare as saying in his message from the Tihar Jail. Bhushan maintained that he would inform the people about Hazare’s release and their future course of action.