A day after urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage in dialogue with protesting students, social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday observed a two-hour silent protest (Maun Andolan) in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar in support of the demonstrations in New Delhi.
“Anna started her protest at 11 am and ended it at 1 pm,” Datta Awari, assistant social activist, told news agency PTI.
Hazare organized the protest at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahilyanagar before leaving for his village, Ralegan Siddhi, located in the same district. Follow CJP’s live protest updates
Hazare’s letter to Prime Minister Modi
the The social activist on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister ModiHe called on the government to listen to the protesting students. Without naming Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Hazare said the minister’s resignation would not weaken the government but would send a strong message to other ministers about accountability.
“If accountability is fixed and a minister resigns, the government will not lose power. Rather, it will send a clear message to other ministers that if they do not discharge the responsibilities of their departments properly, they will also have to relinquish their posts. This will make the government’s work more accountable and effective,” he wrote, according to PTI.
Referring to the alleged police actions against the demonstrators, Hazare said, “The news… Violence and police… is very painful,” he said, adding that the protesters’ discontent should not be viewed “as a problem of law and order, but rather as the suffering and expectations of society.”
He urged the government to “listen to (the protesters) patiently, create an atmosphere of trust, and find solutions through positive dialogue.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Hazare said: “The Prime Minister is the Supreme Leader. It is important to send people’s questions to him, so I sent them,” ANI reported.
Justice and Development Party protests continue
Hazare’s comments come amid nationwide demonstrations in support of the Sarsour Janta Party movement. The party demands three things from the government: resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET-UG irregularities; $Compensating 1 crore to students who died by suicide, and not prosecuting peaceful protesters.
Earlier, the party’s third demand was the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was allegedly detained illegally by the police after she was taken from the Jantar Mantar protest site to Safdarjung Hospital during her hunger strike.
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Wangchuk was later shifted to Medanta Hospital after the Delhi High Court allowed his wife’s appeal requesting that he be shifted to a hospital of the family’s choice.
Following the CJP’s Sansad Chalo rally on July 20, hundreds of protesters continued to gather in Jantar Mantar to press for Pradhan’s resignation and other party demands. The protest on Wednesday witnessed clashes, with police using force, including tear gas.
Protests are taking place across the country, with many political leaders, actors and public figures expressing their support for the AKP’s demands.
(With inputs from PTI)
