Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday threatened to issue a call to arms, saying he would raise a force of 11,000 people trained to hit back if the government tried to disrupt their anti-corruption campaign. The Durga Vahini and Bajrang Dal, two hardline outfits of the Sangh Parivar, have come out in support of Ramdev’s call, seen by his critics as an example of the militant face of Hindutva.
The government responded strongly. Union home minister P. Chidambaram said it has exposed his true colours and true intention. “Let him do that, the law will deal with that,” Mr Chidambaram said. AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said Ramdev’s remarks “show his violent temperament and there should be firm action against him”.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, meanwhile, toughened his stance and threatened to launch a “second freedom struggle” if the government decided to put the Lokpal Bill onto the back-burner. Anna Hazare, however, said he did not support Ramdev’s call to arms. Mr Hazare sat on a token 24-hour fast at Rajghat in New Delhi to protest the midnight crackdown on Ramdev and his supporters at the Ramlila Maidan and threatened to sit on another indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar on August 16 “if the Lokpal Bill is not passed by then”. The home minister said the Central government was committed to drafting the Lokpal Bill by June 30.
With hardline outfits Durga Vahini, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad rallying behind Ramdev, the yoga guru claimed his “sena will only be for self-defence”. He appealed that “20 youth from every district should come to Hardwar, where we will train them in both shaastra (scripture) and shastra (weapons)”.
When contacted, Durga Vahini in-charge Mala Rawal, while “condemning the police brutality” against Ramdev, declared: “We will support any force set up to protect the nation.” She maintained: “We are ready to join any movement being launched for the welfare of the nation.” Speaking on Ramdev’s plan to raise a force, Bajrang Dal chief Subhash Chauhan told this newspaper: “The government should sense the anger in the people.” He then threatened: “Aage chal kar kuchch bhi ho sakta hai (Anything can happen in the future).”
On Wednesday, senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj met Ramdev at Hardwar. The BJP’s Muslim face and spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain, however, tried to play safe on Ramdev’s proposed “army”. He said: “I have not heard of this. But Baba’s weapons are his message, his yoga, his love for the country and the people’s support. The BJP believes in non-violent protest.”
Mr Chidambaram accused the yoga guru of running a Sangh-backed political agitation and said this was “not an agitation by a yoga teacher or yoga guru”.