Returning successfully after his fast unto death to his native village Ralegan, social crusader Anna Hazare said that, apart from pursuing the issue of the Jan Lokpal bill, his next fights will be for decentralization of power and to bring about changes in the election system, so that voters get a right to say ‘no’ if the candidates in the fray do not meet with their approval.
Villagers accorded him a hero’s welcome and a procession took him in a decorated open jeep from the boundary of Ralegan Siddhi to the Yadavbaba temple. An elephant, five horses and an equal number of camels were brought to the village for the procession, which the villagers described as the biggest ever.
Over 1,000 residents of the village accompanied the procession which also had a DJ playing patriotic songs. They stopped frequently as village women performed an aarti to welcome Anna. Gudis–a new sari tied to a bamboo with an inverted small copper urn, neem leaves and sugar candy–were put up in every home and sweets were made as the village celebrated a delayed Gudi Padwa.
Later, addressing a gathering of villagers, Anna said—”Agitations were not new to him and that he had succeeded only because of the unstinted support of the villagers. It was only because of your support that something that had not happened in the last 63 years, finally happened. This same village supported me during the battle for the Right To Information (RTI) Act, which helped expose scams like the 2G, Adarsh and the irregularities pertaining to the Commonwealth Games.”
