Failing to reach an agreement with the government, yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Friday decided to continue with his proposed fast unto death beginning Saturday till all his demands are met.
Emerging from the five-hour meeting with Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahai, the yoga guru said, “We have not reached a compromise and so I am going (ahead) with my satyagraha from tomorrow.” But Mr Sibal, who briefed the media after the meeting, said, “I would not like to tag today’s deliberations as failed. The talks were constructive and we are happy with the progress. Our belief is that the issues raised by Baba Ramdev are very serious and constructive. These can not be resolved in a day as they have long-term implications.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on President Pratibha Patil later in the evening and briefed her on the deliberations between the ministers and Baba Ramdev.
Mr Sibal, while putting the onus on Baba Ramdev, said the government has responded positively to his suggestions and hoped he would do “what is right”. The minister, however, refused to confirm or deny whether the yoga guru would go ahead with his proposed fast. “We had a constructive dialogue on several issues and the government has addressed all the issues Baba has raised in writing. Most of these issues are of national concern and the government is already seized of many of them,” he said.
While Mr Sibal refused to say when the next round of talks would take place, Mr Sahai said, “We have given (written assurances). If need be talks will continue.”
Mr Sibal said the two sides discussed black money, corruption, special courts to try graft cases, agricultural land acquisition and use of Hindi in medical and other professional courses. After the talks with Ramdev, Mr Sibal and Mr Sahai briefed the Prime Minister. Then the two ministers went to brief finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
After leaving the talks venue, Baba Ramdev visited Rajgat and paid obeisance to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and then reached the satyagraha venue — Ramlila Maidan — where he addressed his followers, informing them about the talks.
The yoga guru asked his followers to join him in the fast till the date the government gave into all demands that aim to curb corruption and bring black money stashed abroad back to the country.
The yoga guru claimed his agitation was neither “politically motivated” nor “communal”. He said he does not have any “underground agenda”, as was portrayed by some sections. “Our agitation is not against any political party or individual. We are neutral, not sponsored by any party or organisation and people from all castes and religion are joining us. We appeal to all parties to join us,” Baba Ramdev said.
The yoga guru also stated he was pained at the fact that certain sections of the media had claimed that he had buckled under pressure or was lured by the government to cancel the satyagraha. “They even claimed that I was being blackmailed through a file that the government dug up from my past. I will assure you that there is no allurement for me or past misdeeds to dig up from even my 10 past births,” he claimed amidst loud chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
Earlier on Thursday, the yoga guru, however, had hinted that a compromise could be arrived at as he had said, “...Barring one or two issues, a consensus seems to be emerging between us and the government.” Hectic back-channel efforts were on for the last two days to placate Baba Ramdev, who has raised issues of black money and corruption, as the government is keen to avert an Anna Hazare-like protest on the streets.
At a time when Congress spokespersons officially refused to target Ramdev, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh continued with his tirade against the yoga guru, saying, “If you want to teach yoga, I have no problem, but if you want to do politics, then join the fray.”
Accusing the yoga guru of joining hands with the Sangh Parivar, Mr Singh said, “Right from putting up the pandal to organise the meetings, everywhere there is RSS.” He also took a dig at K.N. Govindacharya for choosing Baba Ramdev to launch the anti-corruption campaign, saying this was not expected from the RSS ideologue.
Responding to Mr Singh’s jibe against him, Mr Govindacharya said, “Digvijayji is a great leader and has every right to express his views. I welcome them, but that does not mean that I have to agree with them.”
AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “I am not talking about Jantar Mantar (the fast by Anna Hazare in April), nor about Ramdev, but by definition itself the politics of blackmail is not proper.”