This time it was not a technical snag, rather the organisers of the Book Fair, Publishers and Booksellers Guild, did it deliberately to end the session.

There was no apology from the organisers after the incident. Rather, the covenor of the Guild, Raju Barman tried to justify the act that bordered on complete indecency. “We turned off the lights deliberately. The session was supposed to end at 5.15pm but it was going on. It was close to 6 and the speakers for the next event were waiting outside the auditorium. We did it basically to help Imran and we explained the whole thing to him. He was very supportive,” Barman told The Indian Express.

The entire incident left a bad taste in mouth given that Imran himself was willing to continue.

The cricketer-turned-politician, who took the snub in stride, left the podium amidst thunderous applause. Dressed in a denim trouser and dark blue jacket the 59-year-old looked impeccable.

He touched upon political issues, occasionally drifting to cricket. “Third world is third world only because of corruption. We have resources. But the ruling elites in Pakistan have used their power for personal gains...the rich became richer and the poor, poorer. But now the new generation wants a change. The have understood that corruption is pegging them back and that is the reason why I am confident of sweeping the next elections,” said the founder leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf.

But what about the army’s role. “If the army wanted to come to power they would have assumed office by now. The present government is the weakest and worst ever. But the military hasn’t intervened yet. Our people, supported by a very vibrant electronic media want a democratically elected government in office. But they want someone who has compassion and will give them good governance.”

Imran promised that he will walk the extra mile to have better ties with India if his party comes to power. “Eventually, we want to compete with India only in cricket and reducing poverties. Both of us can’t afford to spend the amount we have been spending to man our borders and buying arms,” Imran said.

The charismatic leader has sympathy for Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement but said that Hazare’s effort will gain momentum if he launches his own political party. “To change the system, you will have to join the government. You can’t do it from outside,” said Imran.