Toughening its stance against yoga guru Baba Ramdev, the government on Sunday not only justified post-Saturday midnight police action to evict anti-corruption protesters from Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds, it also ruled out any further negotiations with Ramdev on his demand to bring back ill-gotten money stashed in foreign banks.
The police action in the early hours of Sunday set off a slugfest between the ruling UPA and the Sangh Parivar and the yoga guru, who announced that he will continue his agitation against black money. The first political fallout was the decision by social activist Anna Hazare’s team to boycott all meetings of the Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee till some clarifications were provided by the government.
Shortly after 1 am on Sunday, a heavy contingent of the Delhi police, accompanied by the Rapid Action Force and some other units, swooped down on the site of Baba Ramdev’s protest, but were met with some resistance by the yoga guru’s followers. Ramdev, who had just completed the first day’s fast, is learnt to have jumped from the three-metre-high podium and tried to escape disguised as a woman, but this was swiftly foiled and he was served with an externment order barring him from entry into the national capital for a fortnight. Soon afterwards he was bundled into a police van and was later flown to Hardwar in a small plane on Sunday morning. The police action, in which teargas shells were said to have been fired and several of Ramdev’s followers were lathicharged while they were still half asleep, drew widespread condemnation from several quarters across the country.
An angry Baba Ramdev, after reaching Hardwar, lashed out against the government and the Congress leadership over the “police barbarism” on his supporters, and warned that he would now start a nationwide agitation. He made a plan to restart his agitation on Sunday itself, but the Uttar Pradesh police foiled this by clamping prohibitory orders in Muzaffarnagar, from where he was forced to return to Hardwar. Speaking to reporters later, he said he would carry on his agitation from Hardwar as long as he was not allowed to enter Delhi.
When asked about allegations that he was trying to destroy constitutional institutions, Baba Ramdev said: “It is not me, rather it’s those sitting in high posts who should work to protect the Constitution (who) are not performing ... and so the institutions are losing their meaning.”
Later Sunday, announcing the government’s decision not to re-engage Baba Ramdev, Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay, one of the main negotiators, said: “There is nothing left to discuss (with Ramdev). On what issue we will talk? Whatever talks had to happen have already happened.”
HRD minister Kapil Sibal, who had also been part of the negotiating team, made it clear that the police action had the backing of both the government and the party. To a question on whether the action had the party’s endorsement, he said: “Absolutely, 100 per cent. No such action takes place without 100 per cent unity in the government and the party.” The Congress, however, officially steered clear of commenting on the midnight crackdown.
On the issue of black money, Mr Sahay said bringing back black money stashed abroad was on the UPA government’s agenda and it was committed to the cause, and not because an individual had raised the issue.
Mr Sibal, justifying the police action, said there were fears about the law and order situation in Delhi as the yoga guru had collected 50,000 people for “political aasan” (manoeuvre) although he had sought permission for a yoga camp with only 5,000 people. “It was not a yoga platform but a political platform. Law and order had to be enforced in Delhi. We did not want any disruptions,” he said.
Another senior Cabinet member, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, while terming the police action to remove Baba Ramdev “unfortunate”, said the issues raised by him were important and had to be addressed. Mr Mukerjee had led the negotiations with Baba Ramdev on June 2 when the yoga guru had arrived in New Delhi. “When negotiations were conducted, he said he will confine (his protest) to three days. If he had stuck to this, then this turn of events would not have happened,” Mr Mukherjee added.
Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal rejected the BJP’s claim that the police action was reminiscent of the Emergency, and said the government had to act as the yoga guru refused to see reason. “He didn’t see reason and the government had to act,” Mr Bansal said in Chandigarh.
Mr Sibal, on his part, said Baba Ramdev was in league with the RSS and referred to the presence of the Sangh Parivar’s firebrand Sadhvi Rithambara on the Ramlila Ground platform. He also alleged that Ramdev was “not a trustworthy person” as he had “cheated” the government and also his followers. “He reached an agreement with the government but did not tell his followers,” he added.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh also criticised Ramdev, calling him a “thug” (humbug). “Personally I demand the party and the government institute an inquiry against Ramdev on how he managed to generate so much wealth in just seven to eight years,” he said.
The BJP, meanwhile, also launched a nationwide 24-hour agitation against the police crackdown on Ramdev supporters and on corruption. Top BJP leaders led by party president Nitin Gadkari and parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani reached Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi, to launch a “satyagraha”. Earlier Sunday, Mr Gadkari told reporters in Lucknow: “The incident that took place yesterday at midnight at Ramlila Ground is one that has blemished democracy. Those people were protesting against corruption and black money through democratic means. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi ordered the atrocities on these people.”
Likening the situation to the Emergency era of 1975, Mr Advani said President Pratibha Patil should not remain a “passive observer” to these developments and demanded she convene an “emergency session” of Parliament to discuss the Ramdev issue, besides black money and corruption.
The RSS also condemned the “brutal” midnight action on Ramdev and his followers, calling it a “crude attempt” by the government to protect the corrupt. RSS spokesman Ram Madhav wondered whether it was democracy and the rule of law that prevailed in India or if it was a “police state” where action was taken against peaceful protesters without notice at midnight.