Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Monday said he had nothing personal against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but all he wanted was that he should use his “Constitutional and political authority” to stamp out corruption.
Referring to the allegations on allocation of coal blocks, he said he had suggested auction of mines to check irregularities instead of the first-come, first-served policy. A large quantity of coal had been allocated in a questionable manner creating doubts among the people.
“I did not attack Prime Minister personally but I feel he should take appropriate action. I know he is under pressure and that is why he is not able to smile,” Baba Ramdev said.
He was addressing a media conference after meeting Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu to seek his support for his agitation against black money and for a strong Lok Pal law being launched on August 9.
To another question, he said it was wrong to say that he was meeting political leaders selectively and recalled that he had written a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi and sought appointment at least five times. Her personal staff had promised to get back to him but never did so far. On his part he was keen on meeting the Prime Minister and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi too. “We have to agitate as they are not taking any action.”
“I did not shut my doors to any political party. I want all of them to join my struggle against black money, which if tackled could ensure faster economic growth and get rid of the problems of inflation, deficit budget and low value for the rupee. It will make India an economic super power,” Baba Ramdev said.
“There is a lot of black money in the form of gold in the country. The government estimates 20,000 tonnes of gold in the country but there could be one lakh tonnes,” he said. There was black money in land, mining, real estate, drugs and political system, he said and described the white paper brought out by the government as “jhoot paper” (paper full of lies).
Refuting the allegations made by Congress leaders against him and Team Anna, he said for 20 years he had been teaching yoga but no one made any allegation. But as soon as he launched his campaign against black money and corruption on June 4, 2011, he had received 60 notices from various government departments and they may soon touch 100.
Extending full support to the yoga guru's campaign, Mr. Naidu said the fight against black money and corruption should become a national agenda. It was unfortunate that the Congress instead of hailing such a movement was deriding it and placing hurdles in its path.
