CHENNAI: It was a massive show of support for Anna Hazare and the other voices demanding a strong Jan Lokpal Bill. Hundreds of people protested at the Marina Beach against the Centre’s attempt to pass the Lokpal Bill which has been rejected as ‘toothless’ by activists pushing for strong anti-graft legislation.The buses and biriyani packets that are customary to mobilise a gathering this size were missing. The crowd featured people cutting across the lines of age, class and social profile. They raised slogans against corruption spontaneously and waved the national flag.“Don’t forget that August 16 is the day of battle for us. That is the day we have been working towards for this long. That is the day Anna Hazare will start his fast,” said one of the volunteers, as the protesters cheered.“The government should know that people have woken up. It should know that we are watching,” he said. Social organisations that focus on anti-corruption such as India Against Corruption and 5th Pillar were joined by a band of students from IIT Madras and a number of other small groups in the demonstration. The gathering also swelled as visitors to the Beach walked up to the volunteers along with their families and joined the activists.The spontaneous nature of the crowd meant there were two or three different groups raising different slogans simultaneously. While their lines and language may have all been different, but the sentiment they conveyed was the same. That they had had enough. The stir wound up after singing the National Anthem together, for which even some of the revellers stopped in their tracks. Police personnel, who till then were herding the demonstrators joined in attention, before the gathering dispersed.
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