Anna@Ramlila Maidan: Songs, prayers, rain on Day 5 of fast

Anna Hazare said on Saturday he was feeling physically weak but resolved in his demand that the government adopt his version of a bill setting up an anti-graft watchdog.

As Anna Hazare's fast entered the fifth day, his team demanded early introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament and said government can get it passed in days if it has the will.

Hazare gave a 12 day deadline to the government to pass the Jan Lokpal bill failing which he will continue his fast "till my last breath".

A man came dressed as Gandhi while another painted himself in the colours of the Tricolour.

Poori-subji at 3 am, performance for TV cameras and chanting of slogans amid rains -- Ramlila Maidan witnessed a flurry of activity on the first night of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption protest.

After three days in jail, the government has allowed Anna Hazare to stage a 15-day hunger strike.

azare retired to a tent behind the dais at around 10 pm on Saturday night but scores of protesters, including volunteers, stayed back at the spacious grounds throughout the dark hours though intermittent showers made them run back to the tents.

Those gathered erupted into impromptu sloganeering and singing patriotic songs at regular intervals but as the night grew older the numbers became thin, only to increase as the dawn arrived.

The ground was in bad shape as the rains spoiled the hard work of several municipal workers who had spent hours bringing it in form.

It was a sleepless night for policemen guarding the venue and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Vivek Kishore made regular visits to the venue to check the alertness of the men in uniform.

At around 3 am came the announcement that food has arrived at the venue for those gathered. The spread was -- daal, matar paneer, rice, poori and sweets -- and it came in big containers.

Anna Hazare offers water to a kid during his fast at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on Friday. PTI Photo

Anna Hazare, who has become a symbol of popular outrage over endemic corruption in India left Tihar jail on Friday to carry on his fast after a beleaguered government caved in to huge protests across the country.

Anna Hazare's fast demanding a strong Lokpal entered the fifth day on Saturday with his Team saying they were ready to talk to the government but no such communication channels have been opened.

Hazare came to the podium at around 10 am as supporters started pouring in Ramlila Maidan where he launched his protest on Friday after coming out of Tihar Jail.

The 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader alleged the funds in government treasuries were being threatened not by thieves but from those guard it and the country is being threatened by these traitors.

His close associate Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia said the Team was ready to talk to the government on the issue of Lokpal Bill but no one has approached them.

Hazare, who had been arrested earlier in the week and then ordered released, had refused to leave jail until he was allowed to fast publicly. Outside the jail, hundreds of Hazare's supporters waved the national flag and danced to Bollywood music as they waited his appearance.

Hazare had on Friday raised the political stakes by giving a deadline to the government to pass the Jan Lokpal bill by August 30 failing which he would continue his fast "till my last breath".

On the deadline, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan said the government can pass it within days if it has a "strong will" to do it.

The government version encourages corruption and saves the corrupt, Kejriwal alleged and demanded that the Lokpal Bill introduced in Parliament be "rejected completely" and the Jan Lokpal Bill be replaced by it.

Reacting to the newspaper advertisements seeking suggestions from public on Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal said it appeared to be an exercise which will waste the time of people and Parliamentarians.

Kejriwal said they had urged the Standing Committee to reject the bill and send it back to Parliament.

Amid a strong anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Parliament should set aside all business and pass a strong Lokpal Bill at the earliest so that questions raised over the credibility of Legislature are answered.

The Parliament's Standing Committee has placed an advertisement in Saturday's newspapers calling for views from the public on the Lokpal Bill.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, which is to suggest amendments to the Lokpal Bill, on Saturday published advertisements in leading newspapers, demanding suggestions on the Bill.

As dawn approached, people started gathering and some tried to get their one-minute of fame on national TV.

A TV cameraman objected to a CCTV camera being installed right infront of the dais as he felt it would hamper his view. The cameraman entered into an argument with helpless volunteers who pleaded they could do little as it was the decision of the police to install a CCTV camera for security reasons.

Meanwhile, yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday took out a rally against corruption and vowed to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks. Ramdev along with Balkrishna and sadhus led the rally which was attended by hundreds of people carrying national flags, placards and shouting slogans against the Centre.

While 15 days is the standard time given by Parliamentary panels to people or organisations to send feedback on bills, the time-frame in this case makes it clear that the deadline of August 30 set by Hazare for passing the Lokpal Bill will not be met.

Some of the hungry policemen also joined over 300 Hazare supporters and were all praise for the "very good" food they were offered.

In between came policemen with a sniffer dog and hand-held machines to conduct searches for suspicious objects in the ground as well as in the tent where Hazare was staying.

Faculty as well as students of premier educational institutes like IITs and IIMs have launched an online petition on the web to garner support for anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare as his indefinite fast for the Jan-Lokpal Bill entered the fifth day today.

The 1,322-signatories to the petition and counting includes faculty of IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Gandhinagar and IIT-Guwahati. This petition seeks support to the Gandhian by skipping one meal in the day so long as he (Anna) continues with his fast.

The agitation by students, common people, intellectuals and activists of Bihar unit of 'India Against Corruption', the umbrella body of the citizen's movement fighting for a strong Lokpal, continued for the fifth day in Bihar in support of Anna Hazare's movement against corruption.

Team Anna also appealed to people to sit on dharnas in front of the residences of their respective MPs and urge the lawmakers to raise concerns about the Lokpal Bill in Parliament.