It was 3am. Thousands of Ramdev supporters suddenly started chanting 'Om' and Gayatri Mantra on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg on Saturday after they were driven out of the Ramlila grounds. While the crowd of young, old and women who spilled out on the pavement maintained that the chanting rejuvenated them, the police sensed threats behind this move by the protesters.
Each time protesters would sit down and chant the mantras a couple of times, cops would swing in action and drive them away. "We are not doing anything wrong and there is no sign of violence. But they don't even want us to do this," said Rajaram of Sirsa district in Haryana. Cops said the chants were a sign of bringing unity.
The three hours show - 2am to 5am - on this about 3km stretch between Ramlila Maidan and Kamla Market roundabout was like that of a typical patriotic Bollywood movie. Young men and women were shouting slogans of "Vande Mataram" and Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Some of the young girls who were taken by police in their buses were seen shouting slogans and waving their hands through the windows.
One of the protesters, Om Prakash from Delhi, said, "We would prefer to go to jail. The police attack is unacceptable. Someone has to sacrifice."
It was a rare scene outside the Ramlila Maidan with groups of Ramdev supporters coming on to the main road with tri-colours. At 4am, when one of the protesters broke the news that Ramdev had been released near Ghaziabad border, the crowd starts celebrating. "Once the Baba is back, government will see our strength. Most of us who have come here have not come only for him but for a national cause," said Sunita, a resident of Chhattisgarh.
Even as the police were busy mobilizing manpower to 'maintain' peace at 4.30am, some of the protesters started the Kapal Bharti Asan.
Each time protesters would sit down and chant the mantras a couple of times, cops would swing in action and drive them away. "We are not doing anything wrong and there is no sign of violence. But they don't even want us to do this," said Rajaram of Sirsa district in Haryana. Cops said the chants were a sign of bringing unity.
The three hours show - 2am to 5am - on this about 3km stretch between Ramlila Maidan and Kamla Market roundabout was like that of a typical patriotic Bollywood movie. Young men and women were shouting slogans of "Vande Mataram" and Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Some of the young girls who were taken by police in their buses were seen shouting slogans and waving their hands through the windows.
One of the protesters, Om Prakash from Delhi, said, "We would prefer to go to jail. The police attack is unacceptable. Someone has to sacrifice."
It was a rare scene outside the Ramlila Maidan with groups of Ramdev supporters coming on to the main road with tri-colours. At 4am, when one of the protesters broke the news that Ramdev had been released near Ghaziabad border, the crowd starts celebrating. "Once the Baba is back, government will see our strength. Most of us who have come here have not come only for him but for a national cause," said Sunita, a resident of Chhattisgarh.
Even as the police were busy mobilizing manpower to 'maintain' peace at 4.30am, some of the protesters started the Kapal Bharti Asan.
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