The battle lines were drawn clearly between the government and Baba Ramdev on Saturday with the yoga guru struggling to explain a letter signed by one his aides that assured that the agitation would be called off by Saturday afternoon.
Tensions between the government and Baba Ramdev escalated by Saturday evening after the government made the letter public. Ramdev accused the government of “betrayal and cheating” and both sides
claimed the other had gone back on its word. However, as the evening progressed, there were reports of the draft being reworked by the government. So far the government, which claimed to have
agreed to “99 per cent” of Ramdev’s demands, has claimed that it intends to form a committee and nationalise black money.
Even as Baba Ramdev began his indefinite fast against black money on Saturday morning the back-channel talks continued. But by evening, as the negotiations failed, the two sides blamed each other
of having gone back on their commitments. Union minister Kapil Sibal, the main negotiator for the government, released the letter by Acharya Balkrishan, Ramdev’s key aide. This led the yoga guru to
attack the government as he said it was indulging in “betrayal and cheating”. He said he would now only go by any word from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in whom he still has faith.
The events unfolded dramatically as Ramdev first announced that he would be giving the “good news” of an end to the agitation as the government had agreed to put its commitments in writing, but
quickly went back on it after Mr Sibal made public the letter at a press conference here which was also attended by Union minister Subodh Kant Sahai.
Hinting at the government’s stick and carrot policy, Mr Sibal said, “We have honoured all our commitments. But Baba Ramdev had a misapprehension when he questioned the setting up of a committee on
making a law to deal with the black money menace.” Ruling out issuing an ordinance on the issue, the minister, who held negotiations with Ramdev till Saturday evening, made a veiled threat that the
government, which has always “reached out”, can also “rein in” as its engagement should not be taken for “weakness”.
Surprised at the unexpected aggression of the government, Ramdev threatened to continue his fast till his three demands — declaring black money a national asset, enacting a law to confiscate black
money along with stringent punishment, and surveillance of those visiting tax havens abroad — are not met in writing.
Baba Ramdev, however, came under severe questioning by the media on why he did not disclose since Friday that there was an understanding that he would call off the fast after a written assurance
from the government on three of his demands.
“You kept the faithful, media and the nation in the dark” was one of the several accusations hurled at an uneasy Ramdev, who at one point conceded that the reason he did not announce the
understanding was because people would have left. But he quickly adjusted by saying the government would have shown its “thumb” to his movement and do nothing about his demands.
“How can a minister lie,” Ramdev asked, adding he would never talk to Mr Sibal. He also said he still reposed faith in the PM and would go only by his decision. Replying to a barrage of questions,
Ramdev said the letter was given after the ministers “pleaded” that this letter was only meant for the Prime Minister to show that his fast was not going to be indefinite and that he was not aiming
at destabilising the government.
Mr Sibal informed the media that he talked to Ramdev over the phone to assure him that the government was committed to framing a law and the setting up of a committee was a process towards it. He,
however, made it clear that there was no possibility of issuing an ordinance in this regard.
The minister said the government would send to Ramdev in writing its assurance of setting up a committee as a commitment towards the framing of a law. Defending the decision to make public the
communication, government sources said Ramdev was frequently changing positions and they had to “call the bluff”.
Sources said Ramdev’s camp had made a commitment to call off the strike by 4 pm and when it did not happen, they had to categorically tell him that they were going to release the letter. Sources
also said Ramdev was making fresh demands every day and many of the issues he raised later were not in the communication sent to the government.
The sources said they had taken the letter to convey to the government that he had given a commitment to call off the strike.
Early on Saturday morning, Ramdev started his protest with bhajans and yoga sessions before embarking on the hungerstrike. The appearance of the firebrand sadhvi Rithambara raised the hackles of
the civil society activists of the Anna Hazare camp and Congress, which alleged that the RSS and VHP were fully behind the agitation.
Mr Hazare, who had two days ago announced he would join Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, was non-committal on the issue Saturday. “I will go to Delhi on Sunday and take a call on joining the
protest,” Anna Hazare said. Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee member Prashant Bhushan also expressed his reservations against Sadhvi Rithambara sharing the dais with Ramdev.