For the first time, the UPA government, after floundering for an apt response to the challenge thrown by Anna Hazare and his team members, has come up with a political counter-move. So far the government — in reality the Congress — has advanced either narrow technical arguments or spoken in generalities or taken a series of missteps, ranging from disallowing a hungerstrike to foolishly arresting Mr Hazare and taking him to Tihar Jail, thus further enhancing a frail old man’s martyrdom appeal. The crowds have only increased, the pitch of the protest only getting louder.