NEW DELHI—Several thousand people gathered in central Delhi and other cities on Wednesday evening in support of activist Anna Hazare, who was jailed on Tuesday after refusing to agree to police conditions for his planned hunger-strike protest calling for a more powerful anticorruption ombudsman.
At the India Gate monument near Parliament, people surrounded a battery of television news trucks, chanting "Anna, we're with you!" and "Long Live Anna!" in Hindi as they held candles and waved Indian flags and banners. Television footage showed smaller crowds in other cities such as Bangalore and Chennai.
On Wednesday evening, Mr. Hazare remained in New Delhi's Tihar Jail, which also houses several politicians arrested in recent months in connection with corruption scandals that have rocked the government and helped fuel support for the 73-year-old activist's campaign.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier Wednesday backed the police decision to arrest Mr. Hazare and detain more than 2,600 protesters, but Mr. Singh has faced heavy criticism, including from Arun Jaitley of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, who defended Mr. Hazare's right to protest.
"Have you forgotten all sense of statecraft? Have you forgotten how political agitations are to be dealt with?" Mr. Jaitley asked in the upper house of Parliament on Wednesday after the prime minister had said Mr. Hazare would have been allowed to protest if he had agreed to police conditions, which included restricting his fast to three days and limiting the number of protesters at the site—a public park in New Delhi—to 5,000.
Mr. Singh told Parliament that Mr. Hazare was wrong to use protest to force the adoption of additional provisions to the Lokpal Bill, as the draft legislation to set up an anticorruption ombudsman is known.
"Our government does not seek any confrontation with any section of the society," Mr. Singh said. "But when some sections of society deliberately challenge the authority of the government…it is the bounden duty of the government to maintain peace and tranquility."
He continued: "Anna Hazare may be inspired by high ideals in his campaign. However, the path that he has chosen to impose his draft of a bill upon Parliament is totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for our parliamentary democracy."
Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the police issued an "unconditional release warrant" for Mr. Hazare and his aides late Tuesday night. But Mr. Hazare has refused to leave jail until he receives "written assurance" from the government that he will be allowed to go ahead with his earlier plan for the hunger strike, an aide who was arrested and released told television reporters outside the jail.
Mr. Bhagat said Wednesday evening that the police have "relaxed the conditions under which Mr. Hazare can now sit on his fast" at the city's Ramlila Grounds instead of the park where he was supposed to begin his hunger strike on Tuesday. "We have offered the initial permission for seven days which can then be extended on the day-to-day basis," Mr. Bhagat said.
He added that the police haven't put any restrictions on number of protesters allowed at the proposed new site, but said only "as many people can participate as per the capacity of the place." Negotiations are continuing between Mr. Hazare and the police to end the deadlock, Mr. Bhagat said.
Abhimanyu Singh, a coordinator for the Delhi chapter of India Against Corruption that supports Mr. Hazare's campaign, said the activist and his team have agreed to the new protest venue but not on a restriction on the duration of the hunger strike. "Our demand is we should be allowed to protest for at least 30 days," he said.
There are political risks for Mr. Singh if Mr. Hazare's anticorruption crusade drags on and he is viewed as blocking the creation of an ombudsman with the power to go after top politicians. After a brief hunger strike by Mr. Hazare in April, the Congress party-led government formed a joint committee of five civil-society representatives and five senior ministers to draft the Lokpal Bill establishing an anticorruption ombudsman. But there were disagreements over the scope of the bill, as it didn't bring all government officials under its jurisdiction. Mr. Hazare and his supporters wanted all government officials, including the prime minister, to be covered by the Lokpal Bill. They later burned copies of the draft legislation in protest.
"The P.M. isn't corrupt, but now he's supporting corrupt people," said Ravinder Singh, 29, who works in sales at a financial-services firm and was among the thousands gathered at dusk at India Gate, where there was a carnival-like atmosphere with vendors hawking street snacks and tea while police mingled with protesters.
Many of the protesters at India Gate were young. Archana Dang, 22, said she was backing Mr. Hazare because the government's anticorruption bill is too weak, since it shields sitting prime ministers and the judiciary from investigation. "In a democracy, a basic principle is that all people are equal before the law—why should the prime minister be different?" she said.
Mehul Gaur, a 24-year-old architect, said Prime Minister Singh acted "irresponsibly" by condoning the arrest of Mr. Hazare prior to the protest. "If we aren't able to assemble freely to protest, God knows what will happen next," he said.
Mr. Singh of India Against Corruption said about 80,000 people were Wednesday evening marching from India Gate to Jantar Mantar, the scene of Mr. Hazare's hunger strike in April. A policeman at Jantar Mantar said a large crowd of about 70,000 to 80,000 protesters filled the roads and thoroughfares leading to the parliament building at 7 p.m. and soon dispersed.
As night fell, the remaining people at India Gate circled the grounds holding candles. R.D. Sharma, an elderly man with an "I am Anna" flyer posted on his chest, said: "Anna's bill is the only bill. The government's bill is nothing."
