The national capital was thrown into chaos on Monday with Baba Ramdev, along with thousands of supporters, courting arrest while trying to march towards Parliament with a call for an “all-out war” against the Congress on the issues of black money and corruption. This came after the UPA government refused to engage in talks with him despite several threats during his three-day “symbolic fast” on the Ramlila Ground here, which spilled over into Monday.
Amid high drama, the yoga guru refused to be taken to Bawana on the outskirts of Delhi and insisted that all his supporters accompany him. Sporting a black band on the forehead and carrying the Tricolour in hand, he forced the police to change course and take him and his followers to the centrally located Ambedkar Stadium under preventive detention. “We had decided that we would make the government hear our voices by a hunger strike. We were marching peacefully, now the police have stopped us. We respect the law,” he said before being arrested.
Though Ramdev and his supporters were let off after six hours of arrest, they refused to leave the stadium. Till late evening, they stayed put inside demanding that the government heed their demands. The yoga guru declared that he would not break his fast on Monday night.
Despite police officials pleading with him to vacate the stadium as it is close to the Red Fort, where Independence Day celebrations are to be held on Wednesday, and that it might be a security threat, the yoga guru categorically said leaving the premises on Monday night was “out of the question.” But, he said, he respected Independence Day and might think of leaving the place on Tuesday, though he appealed to his followers in and around Delhi to come to the stadium in solidarity with his struggle for unearthing black money.
Ramdev has asked the government to immediately provide sufficient food and water to his supporters. “Such an irony of this country is that while terrorists like Amir Ajmal Kasab were being given biryani for food, desh bhakht like me and thousands with me are not even given water and basic facilities,” Ramdev said while branding Sonia Gandhi “anti-national.”
Bolstered by the unannounced arrival and support of National Democratic Alliance leaders — BJP president Nitin Gadkari and NDA convener and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav — Ramdev positioned himself against the Congress and appealed to his followers to defeat the party at the Centre in the 2014 general elections.
He was also backed by leaders of the Biju Janata Dal, the Akali Dal and the Janata Party, who shared the dais with him and pledged their support to his cause.
“The 2014 Lok Sabha elections are not far away. We will call upon every citizen of the country to not only boycott the Congress but also to ensure its defeat. There should not be any ambivalence about it now,” he said. “We do not have a political agenda. We are protesting to make sure that no dishonest and corrupt person enters Parliament.”
Coining the slogan “Congress hatao, desh bachao” (remove Congress, save country), Ramdev said: “The Congress-led UPA government has become completely deaf, dumb and blind. The fact that the party did not respond to the calls of millions of people on the issue of black money and corruption shows its arrogance. But they should remember that once the public gets angry, it can root out those in power.”
Earlier, high drama was witnessed before the yoga guru and his supporters were taken into custody. Amidst heavy police deployment, Ramdev came out of the Ramlila Maidan at 1.15 p.m. in an open van to march towards Parliament, which is in session. He was followed by thousands of his supporters. After 10 minutes of marching, he was taken into preventive custody near the Ranjit Singh flyover, as the police had blocked all roads leading to Parliament. The police had kept ready 90 Delhi Transport Corporation buses and deputed 6,000 police personnel to prevent any law and order problem.
“We will continue to fight this government till it is rooted out. This is our strategy now,” Ramdev declared, popping his head out of the bus window. “The Congress has become a river of corruption and they have mines of black money. If that black money is brought back, this country will become a heaven. We will tell people not only to defeat the Congress, but also which candidate to vote for.”
As his supporters had blocked the road leading to the Ranjit Singh flyover, the Baba went atop the bus and appealed to them to make way for the vehicle.
Keywords: Baba Ramdev protest, black money issue, Ramlila Maidan, Lokpal demand, anti-corruption movement, Baba Ramdev arrest
Roots of Corruption are not from politicians, it is from the society. We need to change ourselves to build a graceful society which will exchange love and goodness and to treat evrybody same. Unless We realize it, no rule will help- Paticularly agitation with vested interest not gonna do anything better than a good media coverage for a while. Shame on following the basic ground principles among us!
Whether Baba Ramdev is BJP or RSS or VHP is not anywhere as important as the issue of corruption that today is destroying our nation. There is hardly anyone who can say he/she didn't suffer from corruption and might also have been an unwilling party. The question is Baba Ramdev's taking on just one party. He is quite willing to take BJP support though the BJP and Shiv Sena themselves are not having clean hands. With such parties backing him, how will Baba Ramdev ensure that no corrupt person is elected, as his claim his goal is? Secondly, he is just focusing on corrupt politicians, and not corrupt administration and officers.
Ramdev should also expose BJP politicians who are corrupt.
Had it not been for the current Congress-BJP nexus, such a high level of corruption would not have been possible nationwide.
Ramdev should ultimately aim his "war" on protecting people's liberty and right to information and help to clean up the print and broadcast media. If he does that, and only if he does that, will the people of India wholeheartedly accept him as a well wisher of the nation. My best Wishes to all anti-corruption and anti-blackmoney movements. India deserves better leaders than we have. But most of us are illiterate and most of the educated lack integrity. A deep social change is needed for India to become a developed country.
Baba Ramdev has made his point and has used his popularity amongst the masses for a National cause, which if realized can change the face of India and make life easy for the masses reeling under inflation and Corruption.
And we as citizens must also take the responsibility to live in Integrity.
No party can be declared fully innocent or corrupt. It is not party
based but individual based question. Certainly it is painful that we
have lost our moral principles & values in strong winds of success &
selfishness. No Anna or Baba dares to oath their followers never to be
a part of corruption. Let me say except a few all who are participating
in campaigns are corrupt organizing anti corrupt campaigns by stealing
electricity from poles, bribing TTE while travelling in train.
Let us vow to clean ourselves, things will be on track
though it demands courage & sometimes life..............
Everyone should support the movement against the corruption and black
money of Baba Ramadevji and the UPA should be wiped out in the next
General Elections. Whichever party supports this movement, should
eliminate corrupt politicians in their parties and choose honest
candidates to fight the coming elections in 2014.
At last the cat is out of the bag. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is little more than a BJP factotum out to use all the tricks in the book to decimate the Congress and the UPA and bring back the BJP and the NDA back to power. No wonder the NDA leaders have clambered on to the bandwagon to give his agitation against black money a big boost. Ramdev lacks credibility and his movement will fizzle out sooner or later.
No admirer of Baba Ramdev, I applaud him for making his point tellingly.
Ramdeo baba is a true hero and has done good for India. But protesting
for "black money" looks artificial and political. In fact, his protest
are doing more harm to India (& Indians).
If GDP growth slips below 5, millions of Indians will be back into
poverty. All the hard work of last 5 years will be gone in a setback of
one year.
Dear Sir,
In the realm of physical world, something exists or grows because there are som
fundamental factors, that support the existence and growth. So corruption exists and grows
because factors are aplenty to support its existence and growth.
1. It will be naive to believe that an average Indian is more concerned about his daily
existence than focusing his energy to uproot corruption. The story sounds funny, but the fact
ssems, that highly entertaining dummifying TV shows, sport events like IPL, and created
rivalry of regionalism, castism, religious differences, burocratic hinderences, sap up the
energy of individuals and get them exhausted much before they can even concentrate for 10
minutes to get a clear picture.
2. Six decades of misplaced sense of social justice has resulted in people falsifying sc/ st
certificates.
3. Lack of self respect and accusing others Re national passtime.
Corruption exists because majority of Indians support it.
What is the compulsion?
Mediocrity...
It is fact that the Government is a mute spectator of the loot of the natural resources and the top politicians have their share of profits stacked in foreign banks. Gold mines , steel mines , forest resources and land resources etc etc are being looted ever since the Portuguese, dutch , muslim , british and now the Governments . Governments had no policies till date.
Ramdev fight is justified , lawful , democratic, sensible , fair , unselfish and in the interest of all . Manmohan's behavior is vindictive , unlawful and criminal . Police is violating the law and not even arresting lawfully as per procedure . How can he alone be arrested and not the whole lot. If Ramdev has violated the law so have others . It is discriminatory tactics to isolate him and frustrate his plans . A group/assembly has the right to march to the parliament and protest.
No doubt fighting corruption is a courageous act but if one is not corrupt himself he is sure to fail fighting corruption. Is Baba Ramdev is above corruption? How does he live? What is his profession? With due respect to Indian population who follow Baba Ramdev, may I suggest that they check carefully how this Guru lives, his source of income etc before they follow for anything. Shadus, Muslim Pirs (quite un-Islamic as per the religion) and Gurus (Hindu) in Indian sub-continent are known for their corrupt life and they have millions of supporters, again those corrupt population.
Let us find solid weapons to fight corrupt if you can and let us not waste our time running after these bogus Shadus, Gurus or Pirs. Government should ban these pretenders and their activities in public life.
Yesterday there was a conference,to-day there is a drama.All are fooling us.Only we should take the onus of belling the cat on ourselves through the only democratic channel available to us.We should vote and elect honest,incorruptible,patriotic,non-criminal induviduals and negative vote should be incorporated in our electoral laws and then only democracy will be purified.For this the Anna group and Baba Ramdev group should come clean with an affidavit that could be verified and vetted.Then only their credibility will be established beyond doubt.This yathra and hunger strikes have lost their sheen,because of indiscriminate usage.
It doesn't bode well for Indian democracy and the Indian populace as
the prime component of the Indian State that the First Protester
against black money is Baba Ramdev, with the NDA as an important
constituent of the protest. The NDA isn't exactly a White Knight in
the fight against black money, corruption, and for a better India.
We the people had a great chance the previous year when Anna Hazare
started his movement to show the govt that we Indians as a whole are
not satisfied with the performance of the govt and the grant of
mandate to them via General Elections isn't the best weathercock of
the aspirations of the Indian people, as leaders like Kapil Sibal
constantly claim. But we failed miserably in that regard.
Now we have as this Baba as leader in the protest against black money,
alongwith the NDA, which, even though it is in power in many states,
is sometimes the mirror image of the UPA. Its high time we took India
back from the Alliances, the "leaders" and the Babas.
Today Politicians survive / thrive on one thing - short memory of the Indian people. The politicians know pretty well that Anna / Ramdev can shout for a few days get some people and press involved but nothing else will happen. For them it is business as usual. I am sorry to say that unless "WE THE PEOPLE" dont change our attitudes nothing can change.....you will get corrupt people in the parliament because the electorate votes for politicians who will give them free laptops,cows, mangal sutras, power,liquour, biryani packets etc.....the politicians have reduced the electorate to beggars (i.e begging for freebees). Sorry to say that India is heading the Greece way i.e bancrupcy and again it is going to be the common man who will be the hardest hit.......because the politicians will wait for the bailout fund from IMF to feed happily. Stand up guys (including me) and say - enough is enough and please do not rely on Kalmadi,Raja,Kanimozhi etc. to deliver good governance.
If there is a law that you do not hold protest marches within in
certain area when the Parliament is in session, what right Babaji has
to be exempted from this regulation. Most democratic nations have
these conditions for security reasons. When Balkrishna is arrested,
they say he is a victim of the government political conspiracy. This
way we are in the mess, when it suits we want to break the law or take
into our hand. The person who earns 15-20k rupees end up paying tax
rises due to people like Babaji keeping thousand of police and other
authority workers paying attention to their drama. If the trouble
breaks out the lawyers and politicians are most to benefit and the
damage is paid by individuals and the tax payers.
The Government is acting deaf and ignoring the protest of Baba Ramdev.
Except black money holders ( less than million) remaining Indian
citizens asking to announce the names of the criminals who stashed
the black money at foreign banks. Which interest the government is
hiding the criminals. Black money is not only generated by non payment
of Income tax, it is generated through corruption practices,we have to
think in so many angles. The government should not neglect black
money. Arresting Ramdev Baba is not a solution to this problem. To
establish perfect socialist nature in the society we should combat
corruption and black money.
Lets stop Taking about RSS , BJP or Congress and All and In the present context it is very imp that Corruption is handel in India and Lok Pal Comes in , Lets forget who is BABA AND ANNA but look into their motive. Inflation is going Higher and Higher and Majority In India does not have more than 15 to 20 thousand salary , Rupee value is going down to Dollar Day by Day and our PM is silent . This UPA and PM looks hopeless.
Yes, this is the biggest issue facing the country, which UPA will never
even attempt to resolve properly because of the 'hard' earned money of
its top MPs and ministers. Congress needs to be exposed on this issue
for the benefits of millions of poor people, who don't even have access
to basic sanitation
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