NEW DELHI: The standoff in Tihar Jail is likely to be over with Anna Hazare set to come out of the prison after a night-long protest demanding that he be allowed to launch his indefinite strike from a venue of his choice in the capital.
Hazare, who was ordered to be released on Tuesday night after a day-long detention before he was to begin his fast demanding strong Lokpal, had refused to come out of the prison unless he was allowed to protest fromJP Park without conditions.
Activists Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh announced to the hundreds of supporters waiting since Tuesday night that the 73-year-old Gandhian was about to come out of the prison anytime now.
"The government has bowed down. We will have to be prepared to go to JP Park in a peaceful manner," Agnivesh said.
RTI activist Akhil Gogoi said government has given enough indications to Hazare that he can launch his protest from the park without conditions.
However, lawyer Prashant Bhushan told reporters outside that "we have no information or confirmation yet whether the government has conceded to the demands of Hazare that he will be allowed to sit on fast in JP Park without any conditions on the number of days".
Over the last few days, Team Hazare had refused to give a written undertaking that he will end his protest within three days and restrict the number of protesters to 5,000.
Hazare and seven of his aides were picked up from an east Delhi apartment on Tuesday morning hours before he was to launch his protest fast at JP Park after Delhi Police failed to persuade him to give it up.
Police arrested him on the ground he was about to commit a cognisable offence but in a sudden turn of events government decided to release him after protests erupted across the country against its action.
Addressing the crowd outside Tihar jail, Bhushan, one of the close associates of Hazare, said "today's protest represents the significance of people's struggle not just against corruption but a shot in the arm for democracy".
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