New Delhi, Aug 23 : Fasting activist Anna Hazare Tuesday urged his supporters not to resort to violence.

"Do not take to violence. If you do, the government will crush you. The government is very powerful," Hazare told a large crowd at the Ramlila ground here on the eighth day of his fast in support of a strong Lokpal bill.

Non-violence, he said, "is a very powerful weapon".

"This is the reason the government has not been able to crush us so far," he said.

Hazare also urged the crowds gathered at the ground to picket homes of MPs if the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by the section of civil society he heads is not passed by parliament by Aug 30.(IANS)