Hazare refuses to end fast, says he doesn't have problems

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Anna Hazare, who is suffering from fever, today refused to give up his fast despite requests from close aides.

"When the doctor checked me, I did not have fever. But now, the fever has returned," Hazare told his supporters, who had gathered at the MMRDA ground where he began his three-day fast, this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, his close aide Suresh Pathare tweeted: "Anna Hazare medical update: BP (blood pressure) 140/86, pulse: 84, no fever."

Hazare said he had not eaten anything for the past three days as he was unwell.

"I haven't had food for past three days. Today for two-and-a-half hours, I was standing on vehicle. Still, I don't have any problems," Hazare told supporters shortly after close aides Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi appealed to him to end his fast.

There were concerns about 74-year-old Hazare's health as he was suffering from viral infection.

"Anna is unwell. Will you request Anna to withdraw his fast?" Bedi had asked the crowd earlier, which responded with a loud 'Yes'.

However, Hazare, looking quiet under the weather, waved his hand in a gesture of 'No'.

Meanwhile, scattered protests by Anna supporters were reported elsewhere in the country.

The supporters of the 74-year-old Gandhian launched protest dharnas in Chandigarh, Jammu, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru among other cities but reports suggested that the stir received a less than enthusiastic response.

Nearly 50 Team Anna supporters were taken into custody by the Chandigarh Police for holding a protest demonstration in the Union Territory without permission.

Police said the protesters were rounded up from close to the Sector 17 inter-state bus terminus.

"The group did not have any permission to hold protest demonstration and we removed them from there as per law. We will book them under relevant sections of the law," a Sector 19 police official said.

However, a Team Anna member in Chandigarh called the police action as undemocratic.

"We were sitting in a peaceful manner causing no threat to the law and order. This action of police is undemocratic and against our right to hold protest in a peaceful manner," he said.

In Kolkata, a handful of his supporters sat on a dharna in front of Mahajati Sadan. Holding placards, they raised slogans saying, 'we support Anna. Anna go ahead, we are with you'.

Braving cold condition and morning chill, around 200 activists of 17 social, trade, religious and community organisations under the banner 'Jammu and Kashmir - India Against Corruption' launched a protest dharna in Jammu outside the Press Club premises.