Senior BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani, on Monday left in an impressive cavalcade of cars from the venue of their ‘dharna' at Rajghat to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President Pratibha Patil. They submitted a memorandum to her demanding her “immediate intervention” to force the Central government to call a special session of Parliament to discuss the Baba Ramdev issue and the police action against his followers at the Ramlila Maidan early on Sunday.
Later, Mr. Advani criticised the President for being “unresponsive” and that appealing to her had become a “mere formality.” He compared the Ramlila episode to pre-Emergency days and even to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Other demands of the BJP are the same as Baba Ramdev has made: a law to declare as national wealth all assets illegally held by Indians abroad; legislation for strong penal action against “pilferage” of national resources; and explanation from the government on its “brutal action” against peaceful protesters at the Ramlila Maidan.
The BJP also demanded a joint parliamentary committee on corruption, although this was not included in the memorandum.
The submitting of a memorandum was an interlude to the BJP's 24-hour ‘dharna' at Rajghat that began at 7 p.m. on Sunday and ended on Monday. On return from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the leaders continued the sit-in and addressed the media.
In the early hours of Monday, those gathered at Rajghat sang songs of ‘desh bhakti'. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and others clapped and danced. To the criticism that dancing was most inappropriate at Rajghat, party spokesman Shahnawaz Husain said: “It is not a crime to dance to the tune of patriotic songs.”
Although it was a National Democratic Alliance delegation, the NDA participation was low — confined to Ram Sunder Das (JD-U), Naresh Gujral of the Akali Dal and B.K. Raut of the Shiv Sena.
Talking to The Hindu, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav condemned the police action at the Ramlila Maidan but refused to say anything about the special parliamentary session demand in the memorandum or on the comparison to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. “For the moment I do not want to say anything more,” he said over telephone from Uttar Pradesh where he is touring.
Responding to the criticism about the President, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said the delegation was given a “patient hearing” and was assured that the memorandum submitted by it would be examined and sent to the government for appropriate action. “Receiving a delegation and a memorandum has never been a mere formality and appropriate follow-up action has always been taken,” the spokesperson said.
Plea to NCW
Separately, a delegation of the women's wing of the BJP led by Smriti Irani submitted a memorandum to the chairperson of the National Commission for Women protesting the “police brutality” on women who were not only lathicharged but also “physically lifted and thrown out of the pandal” by policemen. Some were “dragged by their hair,” the memorandum said, demanding an independent inquiry by the NCW.
