New Delhi, August 28
In the backdrop of India Gate, which is a tribute to the martyrs of India's freedom struggle, another Independence Day was celebrated today-- this time for freedom from corruption. It was party time for the supporters of Anna Hazare and their celebrations knew no bounds.

The grand celebrations followed the end of the Gandhian leader's 12-day-long fast after Parliament agreed to his three key demands on the Lokpal.

The scene at the historic place was full of madness, with thousands of people shedding all inhibitions and rejoicing in their own crazy ways.

The crowd of over 2,000 people, guarded by more number of policemen, was uncontrollable as it shouted slogans, danced to the tunes of Anna and flew kites bearing his name. Some had come with musical bands, Indian flags, tattoos painted on their faces and bodies. Some of them were carrying banners which had 'Anna chalisa' and other interesting messages written on them.

Supporters were donning t-shirts with Anna's pictures and messages, India Against Corruption and anti-corruption slogans.

The area was jam-packed with people from all over the country who had come there to be a part of the celebrations.

"I have come all the way from Jalandhar to celebrate Anna's victory. I was at the Ramlila Ground also for a few days. I feel very proud at this moment and am happy that our efforts finally forced the government to bend to our demands," said Yogender Pal, a retired government official.

Many people said since they had not seen the freedom movement, and so, wanted to be a part of the biggest movement of the present time.

"We are here to support anyone who is part of this movement against corruption. The politicians have looted enough of the common man's money. They should know that the mass will now question them. It is good to see so many people celebrating for one cause. This brings an end to the 'chalta hai' attitude," said Jawahar Sarin, a retired bureaucrat.

The crowd comprised a huge number of young protestors who went literally wild while cheering Anna's victory.

"We got freedom from the white people long ago, but are still to get freedom from the black people (politicians). Our presence here is a signal that it is the first step towards getting rid of them," said Sushil, a student celebrating his friends at the India Gate. 

New Delhi, August 28
As Anna Hazare broke his 12-day fast at the Ramlila Maidan today, the situation suddenly went out of control, with thousands of supporters rushing towards the stage to catch a glimpse of the 74-year-old crusader.

The front gates of the Maidan were guarded for security purposes and the people were asked to peacefully disperse from the backside of the stadium. However, many supporters refused to budge from the front gates. And finding it hard to manage the crowd, volunteers soon lost their cool.

People broke into the media stand, making it hard for the female reporters to find their way to the stands. Young men, expecting to be shot by a TV channel camera, rushed to the media stand where their entry had been restricted over the past 10 days due to an extensive electrical wiring in the area.

Meanwhile, within an hour of Anna leaving the podium, 15 supporters were rushed to the medical camp. The attending doctors said most of them were suffering from dehydration.

"People are extremely dehydrated. Caught in the rush and heat, some girls and young boys fainted. The crowd had been cheering non-stop since morning without water. It is exhausted," said a volunteer at the medical camp, battling hard to clear the place for the arriving patients.

Even worse, within 20 minutes of the announcement for the dispersal of the crowd, there were announcements of at least two missing children, who had apparently got lost in the heavy crowd.

After a lot of persuasion from the volunteers, around 11 am, the crowd started moving out. However, the water and the food stand at the Maidan continued to attract crowd.

The "Anna ki rasoi" was distributing suji ka halwa to the supporters. Some volunteers had also arranged for a small bhandara where everyone ate delicious khasta kachoris, daal-rice and sabzis.

In fact, many people at the counter seemed more interested in the free food than the movement.

People were not ready to leave the Maidan all of a sudden. Seeing the huge rush at the gates, some families decided to wait for the rush to subside. Others were resting under the pandaals and said they just dint feel like leaving yet.

"We have been here for 13 days. And now, it's all over. It just feels very awkward. We will continue to support Anna in all his endeavours," said Keshav Tripathi, a supporter at the Maidan who waited for almost two hours after Anna broke his fast to move out of the stadium.

New Delhi, August 28
A day after RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, during a debate on Lokpal Bill in Parliament raised doubt on the ability of someone to sit on a 12-day fast and urged doctors to conduct research on the mystery, social activist Anna Hazare revealed that celibacy can make one achieve wonders.

"A man who has produced 10-12 children cannot understand it. What one can achieve by bharmacharya, how will he know?" asked Hazare, taking a dig at the former Bihar Chief Minister soon after breaking his fast this morning.

New Delhi, August 28
The brigade of 500 volunteers of India Against Corruption (IAC) may have failed to manage the crowd of supporters as it went berserk to have a glimpse of Anna Hazare, breaking his fast, but the fight against corruption would not have had the phenomenal ending without them.

Be it outside Tihar Jail where Anna was detained by the Delhi police or at the Ramlila ground, which remained packed for ten days, the contribution of volunteers could not be ignored, with many of them working almost round the clock.

While about 40 of them under Jai Hind, a volunteers' group, were deployed to provide security to the fasting Anna, there were around 500 volunteers who were at work at the Ramlila ground at any given time.

And one of Anna's key aides, Arvind Kejriwal, said, "The volunteers are the backbone of the whole movement who efficiently worked 24x7 and many times were also insulted, scolded and treated badly. Even during the night, one could find volunteers on their toes and many even stayed awake the whole night to protect Anna."

Starting from managing the crowd, anchoring the stage to transcribing speeches, they did it all to the organisers' satisfaction and it wasn't easy for the lot.

"We have been up right since the morning meeting at 6:30 to 7 in which we discussed the problems that surfaced during the course of the day and then work as per the directions of Arvindji. We have worked even at night in shifts. Many slept for just three-four hours and there were some who even skipped their meals," said IAC volunteer Peeyush Jain.

"Volunteers have been manning as many as 20 stalls here and engaged in a range of tasks, involving coordinating with the medical unit or the media section. They have always been on their toes. The volunteer strength registered at the information centres stood somewhere at 60,000," said incharge of the first information centre," Praveen Deshmukh, who works in an MNC in Noida and has been associated with Anna's crusade.

New Delhi, August 28
Even as the multitude of Anna Hazare's supporters celebrated the victory over the government in gaining the Jan Lokpal Bill a foothold in Parliament, people across the nation started coming out of agitation mode and getting back to the day-to-day business of running their lives.

The Tribune questioned a large number of people who had stayed at home confined to their television sets or others who stayed busy in office for their views on the Anna agitation. Many people from different walks of life came up with diverse views on the Anna agitation, but all felt that they had been a witness to history in the making.

Dr Nalini Chopra, a dentist who works with a clinic in south Delhi, said, "The Anna agitation has definitely been something unique. On principal, I agree with a mass movement against corruption. Corruption is deeply rooted in politics, governance and society and there is no real solution to this problem except people taking a very strong stand against it and this is what seems to be emerging with the Anna movement. I have followed most of the action on television whether at home or in office. I do not agree with everything about Anna's movement or the Jan Lokpal Bill but on principal I feel an anti-corruption movement makes a lot of sense. Also, there is something that innately appeals to you about a non-violent movement. Mahatma Gandhi is still somewhere embedded in the Indian psyche."

Pramod Kumar, a retired bureaucrat who lives in south Delhi, said, "Life has been totally paralysed in the past few days as we followed the Anna agitation on television. I feel an anti-corruption movement makes a lot of sense and is needed but that does not mean I agree with everything that happened."

"I feel that the Anna agitation has set a very dangerous precedent. You cannot weaken the supremacy and authority of Parliament. Also, a mob should not be allowed to get its demands fulfilled by holding a gun at the government's head. An anti-corruption agitation is needed, but Parliament and the government should not be weakened on the account of it. This can lead to anarchy unless there is another party of new faces who can form a suitable government that emerges from this turmoil. These are just some points to think about," he added.

Shikha Gupta, a housewife from south Delhi said, "No, I did not go to the Ramlila Maidan but I am a silent supporter of Anna ji. I feel the nation has finally found a leader of worth after 60 years of floundering around. The Anna agitation was something unexpected and unique.”

“I have been following it closely on TV and feel that it is amazing that a mass movement of such magnitude could rise against corruption. Anna ji tapped the nerve of the people in his anti-corruption crusade and this hit its mark with a massive response from the crowds across the country. I think that this was just the beginning of the real agitation which I feel Anna ji will now launch on a host of issues as indicated by him in a number of speeches. I am looking forward to more developments on the agitation front in the future as they say we seem to be living in interesting times."

The Second Sin', the posh new avatar of the barely laminated 'Manre', was the venue for the first wedding anniversary celebrations of Sunanda and Shashi Tharoor. One of the city's most social couples had put together a very varied guest list that ranged from Sunanda's army childhood classmates to Tharoor's companions.

Guests were entertained in style presided over by 'Second Sin' owner and Rajya Sabha member K.D.Singh. But the highlights of the evening were the two presentation ceremonies--a painter who had done a large portrait of the much-in-love middle-aged couple and a printer who had dedicated a calendar with pictures of the couple adorning its pages.

The Anna Hazare tumult and the relatively faraway Saket location meant that many of Delhi's spoilt citizens who rarely travel outside their comfort zone of Central Delhi were missing in action.

New Delhi, August 28
The monsoon session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly that is start tomorrow is likely to be stormy as the BJP, the main opposition party, has decided to corner the government on many issues.

Keeping this in view, the Delhi government has suspended the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Delhi Legislative Assembly meeting to discuss the Comptroller Auditor-General (CAG) and the Shunglu Committee report as both the reports had pointed out financial irregularities in the Commonwealth Games projects constructed by the city government.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting, held a few days back, circulated a note to all the MLAs to defend the government on these issues in the monsoon session.

She also briefed the MLAs and the ministers how to tackle the issue, sources said.

The decision to suspend the meeting of the BAC has irked the BJP that announced to raise its voice against the corruption, financial irregularities in the Games projects, power tariff, etc.

A large number of the BJP activists will stage a dharna near Chandagi Ram Akahara tomorrow when the assembly session will start.

Leader of the Opposition Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the BAC meeting was suspended to muzzle the conspiracy to hide the issue. When the members were not allowed to speak in the meeting, they walked out.

"It is beyond our understanding why the speaker chose to discuss the decisions of the BAC when it is clearly against the rules to take them public," said Malhotra.

The legislative party decided that along with the aforementioned issues, the BJP would also demand a discussion on other issues of serious and immediate concern to the people of Delhi in the assembly under different rules provided. The CAG and the Shunglu Committee reports have already put the government in the dock. But the Chief Minister instead of allowing an impartial and healthy debate on the issues is trying to dismiss these issues unilaterally, he added.

Malhotra said the BJP legislative party had demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister after the disclosures made by the CAG, the Shunglu Committee and the Lokyaukta's observations. If the government tried to use its brute majority in the assembly to quell debate on these issues, it would be solely responsible for the uproar in the assembly.

He said the legislative party has passed a resolution suggesting that if the government did not relent and acceded to their demands, the party would adopt an obdurate position not only within the assembly, but also outside of it.

If the Congress is truly committed to removing corruption, Dikshit should be asked to immediately resign, he said.

Delhi unit chief of the BJP Vijender Gupta said a "signature movement" was launched today to get the people's opinion against the Chief Minister. Majority of the people signed against Sheila asking her resignation.

Suspension of the BAC meeting today exposed the double face of the Chief Minister who on one side said all the chief ministers should come under the purview of the Lokpal on the other she suspended the discussion of the CAG and the Shunglu Committee reports in the meeting.

Gurgaon, August 28
Residents of Harsaru, Gadauli Khurd, Narsinghpur, Mohammedpur, Khandsa and other nearby villages in the district today held a mahapanchayat at Harsaru village in protest against the acquisition of farmers' land and its subsequent allotment to Reliance Industries for development of Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The matter pertains to the acquisition of about 1,700 acres of land of the said villages by the HSIIDC about six years ago. The protesters alleged that the land was acquired at very low rates and handed over to the Reliance group in lieu of a huge commission.

The mahapanchayat decided to take the legal recourse in this regard and expressed a firm resolve to get their rightful claim from the government.

A committee was also formed to chalk out the future course of action.

The protesting farmers further alleged that the acquisition proceedings had been carried out by threatening the farmers.

They cited several other instances in which notifications had been issued to acquire certain chunks of land, but the same were later withdrawn after some unscrupulous builders.

However, the farmers' leaders who attended the mahapanchayat could not explain the reason behind the long gap of about six years to initiate the campaign against the acquisition of farmers' land.