Poor rally turnout disappoints Anna

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Hyderabad: Social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare’s first public meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday was a big disappointment for Team Anna’s supporters due to poor turnout.
The programme at the Wesley College Grounds in Secunderabad was organised by Janatantra Morcha activists. The Morcha was recently launched by Anna Hazare to campaign for a strong Lokpal Bill and sweeping electoral reforms.
Though the meeting was scheduled to begin at 3 pm, it began only after 5 pm to allow more attendance. The crowd grew marginally after Hazare began his speech after 6 pm.
While chairs were arranged for thousands of people at the venue, not even hundreds were occupied. Empty chairs stared at the organisers while most part of the ground remained vacant.
Hazare expressed his disappointment at the poor turnout quite a few times in his hour-long speech, reminding the audience that over 1.5 lakh had turned up for his address in Patna recently.
“The turnout has been poor. But I see a lot of youth in this crowd. Youth are the future of the country. If I can enlighten youth against corruption, my purpose will be served,”  Hazare said.
He said he would tour all the states in the next one-and-a-half years before the 2014 general election to enlighten the public against corruption and the need for a strong Lokpal.
“My target is to unite six crore people to fight for Lokpal before the polls. I am confident that I can achieve this goal,” he said.
He also demanded the government give voters the ‘right to reject’ candidates contesting the polls.
“At present, voters have the option to select only one among those contesting. There should be a last option under which the voter can reject all of them if he is not satisfied with any of the candidatures,” he said.