Mumbai Police: Anna Hazare: मुंबई पुलिस की मानें तो अन्ना के अनशन के पहले दिन पांच हजार भी मुश्किल से जुटे...

Did Mumbai give Anna Hazare the cold shoulder? Day One of the much-hyped protest by Anna Hazare and his followers, to press for acceptance of their version of the lokpal bill, at the city's Bandra-Kurla Complex saw conflicting claims about the turnout. Organisers of the three-day event,

India Against Corruption, claimed that the response was as encouraging as at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in August. It claimed 30,000 supporters attended the event by 4.30 pm on Tuesday. The city police put the attendance at 4,000-4,500. Both figures excluded 2,500 police personnel and about 500 mediapersons. Did the city, where more than half the voters do not show up for polling, chose to remain indifferent as usual to politically significant events. Or did the yearend holidays keep Anna supporters away?

Political commentator Surendra Jondhale blamed the poor turnout on Hazare and his team's weakening political credibility. "A working day is an insignificant reason but what really caused damage is that it [the protest] is ill-timed and politically not correct."