The UPA's political bankruptcy

While reading the editorial and comments, it appears that educated elite class in India just do not have any clue about what is going on their country. They do not get it why Congress panicked and did a midnight eviction of Ramdev's yoga cum hunger strike. For Congress, BJP/RSS/Anna could be managed, because these forces are familiar and could be understood and defeated politically. But Ramdev! That is a new force, much more potent and yet mysterious than even VHP/Bajrang dal/RSS all these combined. The shrewd politicians in Congress got the message of Ramdev when they heard him giving his sermon in the Ramlila ground. They immediately felt that challenge, the danger, the invasion of a &'primitive' force. Hence, their panicked attempt to contain the force. It is like the way Roman empire panicked when the barbarian Germanic tribe invaded their cities! Ramdev represents the most potent and primitive force of Hindtuva. He is here to change the state, and invade your comfortable liberal space. He is going to take your India on a ride. Just watch the events as it going to unfold now... and decide your choice.

Ramdev is an Indian citizen - he has the right be a yoga guru, own property, start businesses or join politics. This is both legal and moral. Just because he wears traditional orange, is not fluent in English and is not educated in a westernized business school, doesn't make him any less knowledgeable or responsible than anyone else. From his statements and his writings, he seems to be much more in touch with Indian people and their issues than our honorable Prime Minister. Baba Ramdev was born to lead - he has the charisma, the wit and the courage to be a leader. Indian spirituality and nation building have always gone hand in hand. Swami Vivekananda diverged from spirituality to alleviate hunger of the masses. Kautilya was a brahmin and an economist but also a great nationalist deeply involved in politics. We need to stop looking down at our saadhus and saints - India is a mystic land because of them. They are the ones who understand the Vedas, Upanishads, Vendanta, Ayurveda, Yoga, Vaastu, Jyotish. RSS/VHP are nationalist right-wing organizations - not terrorists. You may not agree with their agenda, but at their core they like to see India propsper and succeed as a nation. What is wrong if they extend their support to Ramdev or any other anti-corruption drive ? The existence of such organizations are not only legitimate but also necessary to balance out neo-liberalism and neo-secularism. In the US they have conservative republicans; in Israel there is the National Union. Even the most liberal European countries have far right wing organizations. Corruption and lack of freedom are the core issues of our society. Let's not get diverted by people's personalities, ideologies and histories. Let us make our country better by challenging the the people in power and making them accountable for each one of their actions. What the police did at Ramlila grounds was despicable. They have injured a female Yoga teacher from Haryana who is now paralyzed for life. Her only crime was to sit on huger strike for an issue that concerns us all. If you call that political drama, Gandhiji brought us our freedom through a very similar kind of drama for which he is loved and respected all over the world.

I cannot believe that Ramdev received so much support. I have lost respect for Mr. Hazare, after he voiced support for Ramdev. It is very clear from the beginning that BJP-RSS have played a high-level political game. They knew that if they tie Hindu religious leader to anti-corruption issue, then they will gain lot of points. But, due to prompt action by the government, they lost mileage. Although, it is true that UPA has not done much to tackle corruption, at least it does not raise religious tensions in the country. Most people termed the UPA action as un-democratic, but Ramdev also cheated by first accepting demands and then, turning his back. Some times, as a PM, one has to take decisions which you do not like, but which has to be done... that is exactly what the PM has done. Sick and tired of BJP's tricks... Why can't BJP recruit young and educated people, who have proper outlook, to lead our country?

@Prem..Few of the points Mentioned by you does not make any sense as it is not possible to take public reviews after every two weeks. And do not call anybody 'Thug' who is trying to initiate a crusade against the corrupt and undemocratic government whose spokesperson crossed all the barriers of ethics and does not know how to address a press conference. Each and every people of India is aware of all kinds of scams going around them but no body dares to lead from the front, we are a silent watcher of all these scams and if somebody is taking steps against it, then he is providing a podium for the common people to show there concern and ire aginst the existing system. Instead of criticising if we provide support to these kind of agitation then only we can see a bright and beautiful India.

We dont need terrorist any more .... Indian politicians have already developed hatred for Indian citizens. What was the need of hour for police to swoop in middle of night. This can be done during day also. If a yogi wants to highlight and plug-in the loop holes of system, why administration is deadliest against him.

Baba Ramdev’s topmost agenda is the retrieval of around 400 lakh crore black money hidden in overseas’ banks. To arrive at a consensus on fishing out this much quantum of currency- chattels and insert into the exchequer is unimaginable for anyone though it cannot be avowed as an ‘impossible task’. Congress will certainly try to incorporate extraneous conditions to earmark quantum of money accumulated through various means as black money and will salvage its resources from getting confined.

No credible reply has come from the government and its yes-men on Baba Ramdev’s invective against corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and corporate business magnets, stating that they are directly responsible for the death of 70 lakh people per annum due to malnutrition and hunger. He was quite affirmative to advocate for death penalty to those involved in corruption.

Congress will certainly have its own reservations on giving any sort of endorsement for declaring black money as a national asset for which a real thrust is given by the crusade of Baba Ramdev.

It is quite surprising that the government had deviated from an upright strategy and assented for the barbaric midnight attack at Ramlila grounds where Baba Ramdev is leading the campaign against corruption. It is evident that Congress regime has become intensively twitchy and intolerable while trapped in the dilemma to record black money fearing to get further exposed for corrupt practices. Thus it is not bothered to let police excesses and diminish democracy? Civil society activists are justified in demanding for the resignation of the muffled government of Man Mohan Singh. By this lamentable police action the government had indicated its lack of seriousness in containing corruption.

Lot of deliberations would have had inside the congress pergola to arrive at a sly-formula to mesmerize masses that may gratify Baba Ramdev’s movement against corruption. Simultaneously Congress intended to buy time to cook conspiracies to dismantle the ongoing debates that are proactive for framing the anti-graft bill by Anna Hazare and the representatives of civil society. As Anna Team were never consulted while the Bill Drafting Committee chairman Pranab Mukerjee had sent a questionnaire to Chief Ministers of states!

Civil society activists led by Anna Hazare had boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill doubting the government’s intentions on the anti-corruption watchdog and protesting against the police crackdown at Ramleela grounds. Comments by Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister, one of the members of the panel stating that the government had carried on and even finalized certain contentious issues( like including P.M in the committee, horse-trading of M.Ps etc.) within the ambit of the Lokpal Bill depict the highhanded attitude. If the government boasts of showing this sort of astuteness by going ahead with the joint-drafting of the Bill without Anna Hazare and his team of civil society members, will it not lead to aggravate the concern of people of this democracy against the corruption and the integrity of the government to arrest the same? It is a pity that the government had seen the ‘Lokpal Bill Imbroglio’ as an opportunity to deviate from its commitments and schemed for a diluted Bill.

All the People who gathered were ones who truly love the country and are worried about the circumstances. They were of the regular Aam Aadmi kind and came voluntarily. By treating them like this Congress wants send a message that we dont want to curb corruption and we are going to crush those who complain. The govt instead of doing what is right, is trying to suppress any one who dares its misrule. The PM though personally honest and a good finance guy does not have the leadership skills for his current post. Its actually Unfortunate that in India govt like these are elected. I strongly wish this people's movement gets stronger and rouses some Natioanl spirit.

There are millions like me who agree with you that the yoga guru’s charter of demands was “bizarre or over-the-top.” But that’s not the issue here. Personally, I detest this publicity-hungry guru. That is irrelevant here, too. The question that matters is whether all legal requirements were fulfilled by the guru to hold this mammoth event. If they were, the only justification for the crackdown by the government would be if there was an imminent threat of the event turning violent. If the government has any proof of that, please let us know. Mere talk that you were trying to “rein in” won’t do. Don’t make a mockery of Indian democracy which is the envy of the world. And don’t make it difficult for us to ridicule this narcissist guru’s publicity stunt.

A very balanced editorial.What saddens me is that this things are happening in the tenure of Manmohan singh, whom I used to regard a thorough gentleman. The action taken by UPA govt. against baba clearly shows they are not in mood to do anything against matteer of black money and corruption.

Excellent editorial.Baba Ramdev has queered the pitch, for reasons not difficult to fathom. When he decided to go on fast , he has given a chance to the Government to appease him, befriend him; and in the process frustate the Anna Hazare team.It would have been appropriate if he had requested Annaji to include recovery of black money in the agenda of discussions and supported him whole heartedly.Under the circumstances, in the process of boosting his own image he has jeopardized the Anna Hazare Movement and thrown a spoke in the wheel of LokPal bill.The Government will take advantage of every opportunity and tool at its disposal to thwart the efforts of the common citizens to put an and to the rampant corruption.The Government could have handled the situation without taking recourse to brutal police action which only strengthens the opposition to launch on more bandhs and agitations and bring normal life to a standstill.God save India!

It would be impossible to bring back the money stored in swiss banks. What can be done is from now onwards we can stop the money from going to swiss bank. I am a firm believer, any government can do it whether it is of congress or BJP. The midnight drama was not necessary. Whole world is watching the way things are progressing is India.

I hope that moral self respect would prevail in PM's mind and he would resign. If he continue like this, all his good deeds would go down in the drain. He does not seem so unintelligent.

The current government (PM and his team) is unfit for the purpose, and if the PM had any shame he should resign immediately. Your article is an excellent and well balanced summary of the situation.

The success of Anna Hazare movement and the following drama in Ramalila ground remind me what happened in the 1090s. The then Prime Minister V.P. Singh implemented the Mandal Commission report on reservation for the backward. To defeat this vote bank politics, the BJP brought the Babari Majit- Ram Temple issue and countered the move of V.P. Singh’s vote bank politics with a communat politics. Today the BJP is playing the same kind of politic. Anna Hazare brought the evil of corruption to the national level and this movement had a great amount of success as the large number of people backed it and his movement became very popular. Then the BJP wanted to grab the attention from him by bringing some similar issue through Baba Ramdev with the support of RSS. Baba Ramdev with help of BJP succeeded to grab the most popular agenda and the movement of Anna Hazare and present it for the political use of the BJP. Now has the issue in its custody, thanks to Baba Ramdev and RSS

The struggle/protest shows people have lost faith in our DEMOCRATICALLY elected rulers. I fear if politicians and law makers doesn't mend their way and act sincerely now and in future, struggles like this will have severe repercussions.

@Srikanth, your point doesn't make any sense in the light of corruption scandals we are hearing everyday and non being convicted.

Government wanted to use Baba Ramdev to undercut the effectiveness of Anna Hazare and his group. They have got into a serious problem with that group in the Lok Pal Bill drafting committee. They thought by giving importance to Baba Ramdev they can fool him and the country. But the whole thing misfired. Government knows that they cannot either reveal the names of persons having money abroad as conveyed to them by German Government nor frame any law which will force the government to bring back black money.

Everyone need not agree on the Ludicrous and Nutcase ideas of the so called "Baba Ramdev".People ought to be educated not become victim of these thugs who call themselves swamy and saint.We live in the 21st century not the savage era..
First let us examine this guy RAMDEV's accounts, who are his donors and where they got their money and then lets ask ourselves why we need this madness.
Government is not governing but running a "crazy show" to the entire country.What was the need to send senior minister and Top Beaurcrat of the country to meeting this Lunatic who arrives in a private jet and talks about corruption and black money?

This Government is overdoing lot of things without strongly addressing corruption and dithering with idea of dealing with corrupt people in government.

People are justified to call for action when they see Sharad Pawar,Praful Patel,Maran etc., who are in the eyes of the people totatlly corrupt and yet hold office. Most inept people who are not focussed on the development of the country and its future course.

Dr.Manmohan Singh who I admire the most and the most respected and a honest man is being targeted by some "thugs" in the opposition. When you have a situation where we have these coalition partners who are morally corrupt.This government is dependent on the support.When you take action on corrupt people the support wanes and government is afraid of losing the razor thin majority it enjoys in Lok Sabha.This is a condurum, the alternative is BJP... is that a good alternative..people ought to think.

I think this government is managing a difficult situation for which no one to blame but itself. Right thing to do is issue a time bound action list statement and provide regular feedback on the actions. Do not let minister and party spokesman to defend the Government. It looks pathetic.Use the oppurtunity to influence the supporting parties to weed out corruption as the public anger is simmering and all the thugs will listen now, the alternative is they will lose power so they'll listen.

These are actions I suggest to this government:
1.List of actions to erradicate corruption from top government officials to the lowest level (driving license).
2.Steps to be taken to bring back black money(if at possible).
3.Creating an effective law to deal with corruption(not the Lok Pal Bill)
4.Only official statement from the government no minister or partyman to defend.
5.Provide timeline for the action list and feedback to the public (every two weeks).

This will bring some sanity to the Chaos and unneccessary time loss to this Country. The world is watching and the honeymoon period of goodwill may be lost if the government doesn't act and reign in these Loonies.

Jai Hind!

When middle class came in support of Anna Hazare and other civil society members, all sort of allegations was put on them to derail the process!
When poor class came in support of Baba Ramdev , sleeping women and children were beaten with lathis at midnight? Govt. has lost all moral authority to rule! And our "honest" PM says he didn't have any option?? Ever heard of any such inhuman action by police in any developed nation on peaceful protestors??
This is a brutal assault on the fundamental rights of the freedom of expression and no justification can ever be provided ! Moreover , govt. ministers are highly inconsistent in their statements through out the whole event!

It is really very sorrowstate of situation.Instead of looking into the problem and its solution,the government is doing unworthy of a democratic Indian set up.Supressing the voices against corruption and black money,the governmnt could do more to restore faith of th people in the democracy and its constitution instead of threatening like dictator states in the past.Nations abroad make mockery of indian political scenario.In the fight against the evil, the entire nation must for sure stand by Ramdev Baba and Anna Hazare and et al.

Congress is making series of blunders. It will be wiped out completely in 2014 elections. People like mr kapil sibal , digvijay are the greatest dangers to indian democracy. there is little doubt that sonia gandhi is behind all his. If it goes well take the credit or else put the blame on big mouthed people like sibal, digvijay or on poor delhi police chief. we can expect series of actions by various wings of ministries like CBI, ED, income tax dept, Department of company affairs, ministry of Health on baba ramdev ashram and his pharma units. Even we can expect a woman filing a criminal complaint against baba. Congress will not change. This is what they are capable of doing .

well it was a superb perspective brought out by The Hindu. I would say its not only UPA's Political bankruptcy but our country's political bankruptcy. The citizen of India have now no other choice left to give power to the other party left. BJP now has no any specific agenda and marred by useless talks by its high profile members. BJP members are now enjoying like anything with the corruption charges made on UPA. Regional partis can not make Central GOVT in collaboration. India now badly needs a strong National Political Party which can take our beloved country further.....

While the midnight raid to 'extern' Baba Ramdev from Delhi by Govt. was a bizarre, and a low grade political act, I lost the whole aura about the Swami who was supposed to be a Yogi, who is capable of mastering the mind, divine, cool and calm in adversity and caring for his disciples, by seeing him fleeing away, jumping down the stage, hiding himself like a coward, surrounding himself with women, changing his dress into Salwar (a stiched women's dress which he never wares as a Yogi) covering his face, which expressed fear and anxiety never expected from a divine Yogi, and finally being caught by police on a street while hiding and running away! Just compare his panic and behavior with the dignity and calmness of real great divine souls like Gandhi, Mandela, Vinobha Bhave, even the present Indian hero, Anna Hazare (A simple, straightforward, honest man!) Baba should have calmly allowed himself to be external by police without resistance. This would have avoided the injuries of his defending supporters and would have earned more support and admiration from many people like us for his fight against black money and corruption! Now his honesty of purpose is in question.

"Arbitrary, brutal and anti-democratic": you have sumptuously paraphrased in your exquisite editorial our feelings. 'Kapilsibalspeak' carries not an iota of conviction. He is the man, who growled that the country lost zero sum in the most notoriious 2G spectrum scam. How many men of Manmohan Singh cbinet be different from Baba Ramdev in respect of decency and antecedent. Ramlila crackdown reminds one of the frightful days of one of the darkest chapters in the history independed India :emergency. Is facism raising its ugli heads again in this holy land. We do not vouchsafe the irrational demands or the moral implications of Ramdev's actions. But we hate the unholy haste and the threatening style of functioning of the Union Government.

The mid-night swoop on yoga exponent Baba Ramdev speaks loudly of the intolerance of the agitation going on against a just cause. This is nothing but a bullying tactic to silence the agitationist who is vociferously demanding to bring back the money stashed abroad. The action against Ramdev will strengthens the suspicion that anything would be done to do away with corruption.

Congress has been quoted Mrs Sonia Gandhi distences her self from the action by the ministers to reach AirPort to receive/discuss with yoga guru and also for the midnight action. If this so some one from Govt. shd explain at whose instance and decision all these happened. There can not be so called joint responsibility of the govt. as it was not possible to have cabinet meeting of all the ministers in short time.

Baba Ramdev's credibility and sincerity to the cause is questionable ,beyond doubts,but the treatment meted out to a his supporters who barely looked criminal or who hardly incited violence or rage is utterly condemnable. This govt has surely lost its mind and the tyrannical and repressive manner in which they sent the police for manhandling the protestors surely inflicts major harm to the very principles and ideologies of democracy.i strongly believe this govt has to step down for good, because they have become no less than cruel aggressors.Lurching between extremes, from cajoling the Baba to give up the idea of fasting, to behind the door meetings , to sending troops to beat them up is a clear sign of ineffectiveness, incompetence and irrational decision making from a govt already standing exposed after a series of ugly and unprecedented scams beleaguering its reputation.The ever oppurtunist Opposition also has left no stones unturned in scoring brownie points by shooting the UPA from the Baba's shoulders.Never were they so worried about the black money issue when they were in power.Now suddenly they feel enlightened.What a Joke.This country, politically is in dismay and complete chaos with a morally low and ethically corrupt govt at its helm

How can corrupt politicians allow somebody to fight against corruption. These corrupt people have hollowed India of all its wealth and when some body tries to voice the views of the general masses of India these corrupt politicians try everything possible to stop him. But it seems that India has now awakened. Why has congress not been able to bring the black money to India? The answer is that the money largely belongs to the politicians (the larger number being that from Congress who ruled (ruined) the country for such a long period. The congress leaders call a terrorist like Osama Osama ji' and still remain in the party - what else can you expect from such a government.

How come a senior Congressman (read Digvijay Singh) calls Baba Ramdev as "cheat" and "thug" and four senior Congressmen led by Pranab Mukherjee go to the airport to receive Baba?

I don't know what message the govt. is trying to send down the lines. At one hand, they claim to be of having a similar view on 'black money menace' while at the other hand unleash the police to crack down the public who for the first time are getting a chance to vent out their anger.

Well atriculated opinion of the UPA government. It appears that this government has no command structure, discipline or the ability to anticipate negative sentiment among the masses while taking an action like this. This will be the right time to move a no confidence motion against the government.

The editorial makes for a very good reading but unfortunately fails to convince. I, for one, would like to take a slightly different view of the whole matter. It is true that in a democracy such as ours, whose very roots are deeply entrenched in hunger strikes, Satyagrahas and boycotts against colonial rule, denying an individual his right to use these peaceful, non-violent and Gandhian devices to voice his angst against the government is patently anti-democratic and runs counter to the grain of a vibrant democracy. However, before condemning the action taken by the government as "arbitrary, brutal, and anti-democratic ", it is important to answer a fundamental question: can the approach and methodology adopted by Baba Ramdev be classified as a Satyagraha? A cursory glance at the demands raised by Baba Ramdev would convince every informed Indian that most of them range from being absurd to unacceptable. But even in respect of demands that merit a serious thought by the government, such as the one relating to bringing back black money stashed abroad, we all understand that there are no ready-made or immediate solutions. In the past few months, the UPA government, unlike all other governments in the past, has taken a few credible steps to expose the network of black money which includes signing bilateral agreements with different governments. I agree the government needs to do much more but at least first few steps have been taken and the government does look serious to combat this scourge. At this juncture, instead of strengthening government's hands and constructively pressurizing it to do more on this front, Baba Ramdev wants the entire issue to be resolved immediately. The government, before evicting Baba Ramdev, tried everything possible to avert the impending crisis. Sending ministers of cabinet rank to receive Baba may have come across as "obsequiousness" but it did suggest that the government was willing to go out of its way to lend a patient ear to Baba's demands, howsoever absurd they may be. The government, drawing on the lessons it learnt during Anna Hazare's fast, held multiple rounds of talks with Baba Ramdev and tried to convince him that the government would take all possible actions to accommodate his demands. Despite such positive gestures by the government, Baba Ramdev reneged on his promise twice leaving the government with no option but to take stringent action against him. If one looks closely, the real issue from Baba's perspective is not so much about fighting corruption or nudging the government to do more as about using the time tested strategy of fast unto death to gain overnight popularity. The crusade by Anna Hazare against corruption a few weeks back and the unprecedented support it drew from all sections of society seems to have left a deep imprint on Babaji's mind and inspired him to take similar approach lest he be left behind in this game of one-upmanship. Had the government allowed Babaji to go ahead with his plan, it would only have set a dangerous precedent. While it is true that the government machinery should have been sensitive in handling the situation and should have taken care not to hurt people gathered on the ground, it was necessary to send across the message that Baba Ramdev and people of his ilk cannot be allowed to hold the government hostage to their whims and fancies.

The Hindu should also add a 'like' button to show the support of the people and their admiration of the aricles which are written so intelectually and with un paralleled tranparency in Indian media. This will make the site more visible on internet.You can also add share buttons for social media.Kudos for 'The Hindu' team. 'A single lamp can tear apart all the darkness'.

A nice editorial. I am not a supporter of Baba Ramdev. Neither am I an opponent of Congress. But I just want to let the crooks who govern this Indian democracy know that the action they took against the innocent people having good intentions was highly unwarranted, uncalled for, unilateral, arbitrary, barbaric, brutal, anti-humanity, draconic, facist, .... I just don't know how to react. Mr. Singh, you are no longer a king, Mr. Sibbal, you are a murderer, of democracy, Mr. Digwijay Singh, you are the biggest thug on the earth and Congress Party, this is your biggest blunder in Independent India.

The midnight attack on ramdev baba and his supporters including women, and elders who were resting after a day's peaceful fasting, is a brazen rape of democracy. This reflects the utter desperation of the powers that be against the growing anticorruption movement emerging across the country and the collusion of the govt. with the blackmoney account holders. This brutality and callousness is reminiscent of the british raj atrocities like jalianwalabagh and the tortures that Mahatma Gandhi had to endure while in South Africa which resulted in the genesis of the satyagraha movement. The UPA dispensation which is by all means the most corrupt in the history of independant india has lost all moral authority to govern. The measures suggested by Baba and Anna are absolutely practical reflecting the will of civil society and are the need of the hour to save our nation from the clutches of forces that are eating into the very vitals of our nation.

If the government can justify the action, the way it did, no wrong is the suggestion of baba ramdev. Now we see the dramas from the congress to divert itself from this. All just to hoodwink the real issues. Else what is the need for the government to shield the rich who got by unfair means.

Thank you sir for an extremely well written editorial - i have been looking forward to reading the Hindu's leader on this since the unfortunate attack on the large mass of people happened.

Such editorials only embolden blackmailers like Ramdev and Hazare. The Govt did absolutely the right thing in evicting Ramdev from the grounds. Those who are comparing the eviction at Ramlila grounds to JALLIANWALLAH BAGH are insulting the people who died in the Jallianwallahbagh massacre.

Its a good time for BJP to move non-confidence motion, since this govt has lost all kind faith of the people. This govt. is facing huge Public's Faith deficit which I think now has crossed its limit. The act against any peaceful protest is highly condemnable and the way govt is functioning as UPA-2 have no moral right to stay in power. I expect from all supporting parties of UPA to reconsider their decision of supporting the govt. of Thugs.

While people can have differing views on the demands made by Baba Ramdev, they have only one common view on the action taken by the Government - It is sheer atrocious and arrogance. It clearly proves that the government is no mood to allow any type of agitation against corruption and blackmoney. In fact Dr.Manmohan Singh should have taken the agitation as an opportunity to bring out an ordinance with stringent provisions against persons indulging in corruption and against persons who have been stashing millions of rupees in tax heavens. I feel that he had been advised wrongly by his ministerial colleagues who think that this agitation would die away once the Baba is removed from the scene forgetting the fact that Wikileaks has promised to bare the names of the people who have accounts with Swiss Banks shortly. Once the names are made public, then the agitation is bound to be more severe and serious. It is unbecoming of the stature of a person like Dr.Manmohan Singh to keep quiet at such critical times and let others do the talking. One thing is sure - the people of this country are vexed and are seriously looking for a political party / personality who can stubbornly tackle the menace of corruption and degeneration in public life. The UPA led by the congress has proved that they are not capable of taking any action in this regard probably because most of their own cadre - right from the Ministers, members of Parliament to a gully level leader are neck deep involved in the mess and any stringent action proposed will only harm its own cadres. Had Dr.Manmohan Singh seized this opportunity and did something positive on this issue, he would have injected a lot of adrenalin into what can be termed as a semi-dead congress.

Congress is a motley crowd of opportunists with small brain and large egos. Experience or lack of it of Sonia and a non political PM has lead to crisis created by such incompetents as Chidambaram, Gulab Nabi, etc. Arrogant therefore brutal. Congress mistakes opponents as enemies - a trend started by Indira. Most of its opponents are Hindus. It is easy to call them communal and divert attention. Any number of Secular Intellectuals bite the bullet and divert the attention of real issues affecting the Nation and convert everything as Communal Vs Secular. If One is to be secular does he have to accept incompetence, corruption etc.

It was heartening to see at someone speaking out against the Central Govt. What I saw on TV at Ramlila Maidan was shocking to say the least. Fact that the police was ordered to crush the fast at 1 AM itself shows that the GOVT of the day just could not face that Baba popularity was bigger then them. So far GOVT is very lucky that no one has succumbed to the injuries during the assault in the night. What is so absurd here is that each time the GOVT makes a blunder they make RSS the scape goat and get away from tough questions. RSS is the pet subject for the GOVT for diverting the issues. Baba's some of the demands are impossible, but black money demand is genuine. But, to be honest the GOVT of the day will never agree to this demand. Conceding to this demand is as good as fermenting problem for themselves.

Your editorial is both poignant and eloquent. The UPA-II government has an obligation, as even dictated by the Supreme Court, to swiftly identify and recover the loot of black money held in foreign banks as well as bring the culprits to justice. Whether led by Anna or Baba, there is a tsunami of protest building up to hit the Center since the public is fed up with its impotency in handling corruption at high levels. Keeping aside the undemocratic highhandedness of the police to disperse innocent and non-violent protesters at midnight, there still remains the question as to why the Prime Minister has not come forward to meet with the Media to provide honest and forthright answers to the questions that the public has been raising through the Press in recent weeks.

Its very unfortunate that Congress lead UPA-II Govt. has crossed all limits of brutuality on Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters who were peacefully exposing the face of corrupt politicians.Instead of weeding out corruption from the country they tried to eliminate Baba Ramdev during mid-night who along with his thousands of followers was on hunger strike against the corrupt regime.Senior congress leader Digvay Singh now a failed politician who was ousted from political scene of M.P about a decade ago is exposing his poor state of mind by issuing irresponsible statements against a Saint and Ministers like Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay are justifying the act of cruality in a democratic nation.They are making false excuses to make strict Law against corruption.The corrupt politicians of India must understand they there days are numbered.As Lalu and Karunanidhi were ousted from Bihar and Tamilnadu the corrupt politicians will be ousted from India.The people of country are fed up with the corruption and there is need to bring another Revolution to get freedom from these corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

The Undemocratic and brutal approach of UPA in handling sensitive matters like Baba's Eviction from RAmlila ground and Lathicharge on commomn innocent people at midnight proves their political bankruptcy. Irresponsible comments and baseless statements by Digvijay singh shows how each and every senior congressmen has forgotten the ethics and moral to address media and how to speak in press conference. Declaring Baba as a 'Thug' shows how shameless these people are.

I am appalled at the meek response of the media to such an outrageous action by a 'democratically'; elected government that lives on the oxygen provide by a weak coalition. Even if for a moment we forget the comedian in this act, we cannot write off the multitude that thronged such movements. Does that mean the media has become insensitive to the sensibilities of the common man? Instead of down right condemning the act, it has gone about dissecting the gathering and look into the dismembered bowels for remains. It has become a habit for our ruling elites to see red whenever anything white or saffron is seen in the crowd. At this rate we will soon have our national flag with only one colour that suits the ruler of the day. This act of the government is the most heinous post independence that can only be compared to the Tienanmen square crackdown in Communist China. The news channels show so called enlightened citizens bracketing 'Vande mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki jai' sloganeering as Hindu communal phrases and the anchor just smiles at these comments without even a whimper. If this is termed impartial news, then we don't deserve such news that are anti-national. Why is it a sin to be patriotic in my own country? Our PM hops around the world 54 times doling out virtues of being the largest and tolerant democracy in the world while his trusted lieutenants go about indulging in political debauchery. What will he tell now to his well wishers around the world?

Kapil Sibal says that the Congress Govt tried to make some sort of a secret deal with Mr.Ramdev and that Mr.Ramdev did not stick to the deal. This shows that the Government tried to cheat the people as it has tried to sabotage the anti-corruption movement by trying to make a secret deal with Mr.Ramdev.

The issues the baba has raised may not be practical in the constitutional ways as you have told ...but we common men want accountability of the people who have their cash stashed in the swiss and othe banks..when the government has been provided with the list what is stopping them from action of releasing it at least first ....DOES THIS UPA or any other political party has the guts to do it? MOST Of the political powerful clan will become empty throughout INDIA that is the state of our constitutional political class.....Pity and shameful ..BABA may be impractical but this time the common aam aadmi wants action no more commitees eventhough if it is impractical and stupid.

All the decision makers in this govt have lost the capacity to think rationally and logically, they become totally confused and paranoid and are taking one bad decision after another.There is no governance at the center today.Different leaders are speaking in different voices.It's a cacophony rather than a well conducted orchestra.

I had read Premchand's Panch -parmeshwar in my school days .It was a story of land dispute between two groups and incidentaly the head of one group was elected as sarpanch to sort out the matter. The rival group was scared now thinking that justice will be biased and will be towards the favoured group,so it left little hope with the other party. When the judgement day came,the sarpanch did proper justice and delivered his opinion in favour of the deserving group which was sarpanch's rival. The moral of the story is that when you are given a very high pedestal the aura of that position is so much influential that,it is compared to be similar to God,where you see every one as same ...but our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ji, though seated on that high platform ,the aura is elusive.Why he is so scared of Sonia-gandhi?He should come out and play the perfect role of Panch-Parmeshwar. ``

The the PM has acquired double standards.Whenever there was terror attack he used to say that terror has no religion and has no colour,this may be due to the fact there was no retalliation. But now any uprising against injutice is being branded like saffron brigade/RSS/BJP.Had baba worn green or blue he might not have been treated badly by UPA.

I AM FURIOUS! The shameless acts of the ministers, the dirty cheap politics that the current UPA government is playing, the weakness and degradation that Dr. Manmohan Singh has brought upon the office of Prime Minister of India and upon the rest of the country in the eyes of the world is extremely sad and it represents the death of democracy. And I hope every thoughtful citizen of this great country are furious! Public memory is notoriously short and self-centred. Everything and Anything can be absorbed and forgotten. CWG, CVC, Adarsh Society, LIC Housing, Kerosene, Bofors, Hawala, Kashmir, Chile & Haiti Earthquakes, Iraq, Afghanistan, 2G, 4G, Nuclear Liability Bill, Satyam, IPL scam, Black Money, Gandhi dynesty, Cash-for-votes, DMK, Trinmool, Wikileaks, Naxalism, Maoism, Jan Lokpal Bill.

Ours is a nation of youth now and will remain so for another decade as per one estimate. But youth is busy in fighting daily competition to make both ends meet and is facing a tough situation of unemployment, malnourishment and lack of education. It seems to be a situation like that of the emergency days and hence a person like that of JP may have to give a call to the youth to forgo their education for a year to liberate this nation of the foreign yoke. MMS is their agent and moot spectator turning a blind eye to all such kind of happenings which has caused a grave injustice to the hapless people of this great nation. Madam has a strong brigade in the form of kapil sibbal et el. who are highly experienced in hoodwinking people at large with impunity and unfortunately youth is disunited and disorganized. This is the right time for action now. And hence whether he is Anna or Baba, we all must go all out to extend all our support without any argument and exception whatsoever.

Yes, they are definitely blank in their minds, on the ways to deal with such serious issues. The first and foremost is asking Mr Sibal, to be a front end man for all such talks. He is a brilliant lawyer but a poor politician. He seems to be reeling under the impression, that his courtcraft will help in dealing with people . That is what driving him from swinging to the extremes. The reasoning given by the police and the govt saying that Baba was given permission for Yoga session and he converted into a political platform, is a white lie. It was a pathetic sight to see him jumping from the platform and running all over the place, like a school boy playing hide and seek. The sudden fire that broke out and put out by the people gathered there,belied the theory propounded by a panelist on Sunday's NDTV programme that RSS/VHP planned to ignite fire and cause human loss. The Prime minister, unfortunately has become a dumb person and it is only Sonia gandhi calling the shots through NAC. It is an irony that on one hand, the civil society is pushing hard for reforms and results and on the other hand, prominent personalities who were thrown into politics, have proved to be an utter failure,our P.M. being a shining example of this failure. It is not long before, the media and our newspaper in particular will call for P.M.'s resignation, for inept handling and covering up all the financial frauds.

The editorial is very informative.There is a mismanagement on the part of the government in handling the entire situation but what I as a member of the civil society can not understand is the compulsion of the Government to lathicharge and teargas people sleeping peacefully at the dead of the night. These people had been conducting a Satyagraha peacefully through the day and had been fasting and had not even ventured out of the venue and were not even armed.What threat could such a gathering pose?

Dear Wikileaks Julian Asenge,: It's the right time sir now for you to release the list of Swiss Bank Indian Blood Owners which the present goverment is shielding as most of them are from them as so called party leaders, Minister Bureacrats. This is shameful act of so called Goverment. To all those are called in they are in power remain calm your days are counted as it was counted in Tamilnadu. Nothing is big in front of people force. Soon people will raise Congress will fall. All corrupt will lobby in Tihar Jail!

What happened in the mdinight hours of 04th June to Baba Ramdev's peace rally just goes to show that the Indian UPA Government can be like the Chinese Government in despotism but without the discipline & dedication of the Chinese! Today its lathi charge and tear gas, tomorrow it could be another Tiananmen Square!

It is indeed a pity that the happenings in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt is not giving any lesson to our political elite. They are considering themselves above all and think that once elected to the Parliament, they cannot be questioned. Else what objection can be there in formulating the lokpal bill in front of a couple of cameras? What are they wanted to hide from the mass ? How can they insist that the mass should listen and obey the?How arrogant and authoritative they all have become ! Apart from politicking, what on earth these parasites can do? Fools !See the writing on the wall and act wisely! Else the common man will never forgive you all.

A very barbaric and unconstitutional decision to evict Baba Ramdev and supports at midnight. One should ask for Prince of Congress Mr. Rahul Gandhi's response to this act. How can he criticize Uttar Preadesh Govt for taking action on agitating (violent farmers who had kept govt officials hostage at gun point) and keep silent on the act of his own party's governments(Delhi govt as well as center govt). Where is National Human Right Commission now who was making false claims of recovering 30 plus dead bodies killed by UP Police at Noida village. Prince of Congress as well as center govt should either seek apology from UP Govt for criticizing its actions in Noida village case or should condemn the more horrible one by his own party Govt.

It has been reported that RSS and communal elements were in Baba Ramdev's agitation against black money and corruption, which was not acceptable to the government. I do not understand the logic in saying so. Regardless of one's political affiliations, are individuals not entitled to express their solidarity on the issue of corruption and black money, which are totally non-political issues.Even Maoists are reported to have extended support to Baba on these issues. The other point is regarding capital punishment sought by Baba for those convicted of corruption charges. What is impractical about this ? Will not such a law deter people from corrupt acts ? In any case, a person convicted so, can appeal for mercy to the President and if one goes by past record of disposal of mercy petitions by the government, it takes easily more than a decade for a decision either way. This is apart from years taken for such cases to reach Supreme Court for the final ruling in the first place. Even de-monatization of one thousand and five hundred Rupees sought by Baba can be done to fish out black money by replacing with new notes to those who are able to justify the source of such notes presently held by them. The authorities can always decide a cut-off level for which no questions are asked for replacement of notes,so as not to unnecessarily harass people.

What's wrong about his eviction? Who is this Ramdev? Nowadays this kind people wants to bring extra constitutional authority to control the democractic function through indirect way.

The editorial heading sums up the state of UPA-2. If what Mr Digivijay Singh says is correct about Ramdev then why was he greeted like a visiting head of state of government? Why did the government not investigate his wealth and source of funding so far. Disowned by all, Amar Singh's wealth is now being looked into by ED and investments by him in Amitabh Bachchan's company. Why did UPA keep quiet and turn a blind eye to his earnings when he dined with Manmohan Singh and got Samajwadi Party's support for the India-US civil nuclear deal? Teargassing thousands of ordinary people in the middle of the night when they were asleep, in the heart of New Delhi does not augur well for either the Congress party or for democratic dissent in India

India is democratic country, every one has right to raise his and her voice against govt, every one also participate in politics so comment of some congress leaders and some Bollywood stars on Ramdev is regrettable. Dismantle and forceful displace from Ramliamaidan to Guru Ramdev's peaceful protest on black money and corruption, by congress govt is painful to we people.

I dont think what the government had done is completely wrong as we dont know if there are any political motives behind Baba Ramdev's fasting.Baba Ramdev should have just joined his hands with Anna Hazaare ji to fulfill his demands.Infact I think the government had done somewhat a better job by arresting him in the midnight as it would cause chaos or discomfort to the public if he was arrested in the morning.A thorough investigation must be conducted on this incident and on Baba Ramdev's assets.If his intentions are proved to be credible then I would definitely support him as I did for Anna Hazaare.

Use the following proverb with a real example: "Ulta chor kotwal ko dante/ Digvijay Singh calling Ramdev a thug." Loss of sanity.

Regardless of whether the UPA leadership likes it or not, every citizen of the Republic of India has the constitutional right to assemble in a peaceful manner. True that some of the demands made by Ramdev was unreasonable but that does not confer legitimacy to the brutal recourse the government took to deal with the situation. The justification that followed was illogical and condemnable too. The crackdown was inhuman, barbaric, draconian and runs counter to all sense of democratic norms to say the least.

If the UPA govt had to ''REIN-in' it would have done with the corrupt people...instead it choose to give 'BABA RAMDEV' a new lease of political life'' by ''REINING'' on them at midnight...Looks like the UPA badly wants to occupy the opposition bench soon enough.

In the amidst of all this hullaboo, one question is consistently popping up my mind. Where is Mr. Rahul Gandhi? Congress has been projecting him as a saviour of poor people and his recent 'heroic-visit' to Bhatta-Parsaul was covered by every television channel. Why ain't he speaking up when so many children, ladies, senior citizens where thrashed by policemen mercilessly.I am no big fan of politics, but when youngsters entered the arena I thought probably this new generation will bring some change. Alas, I really feel sad that our country don't have one patriotic and ethical leader left in our country who fought so hard for the independence.

Two issues are involved in 3/4 June episode. Firstly, the demands made by Ramdev Baba, of which a few of them may not be praticable from Government' point of view. These demands made sleeples life for Government. Secondly, the removal of the volunteers from the Ram Lila Maidan by using force at midnight is uncalled for. This shows the immaturity of the Government in hadling the issue. Now the Government has to come out with concrete steps on war footing to implement the demands and show some maturity in handling such issues.

This dastardly act has only hastened the downfall of the UPA2 government. By resorting to such undemocratic means, the UPA regime is stoking the pent up anger of the masses, waiting to erupt anytime soon. Hell hath no fury, so the saying goes, i dread to imagine that a Jasmine revolution in India will surely draft the one going on in parts of the Middle east. Now the only way to salvage lost pride is for our beleaguered PM get down to brass-tacks and ensure that a stringent law on Graft is passed ASAP, thereby ensuring that all black money stashed abroad is declared as national asset and brought back to India and the guilty be punished without any mercy. And for the governments own good it is better that it reins in people like Mr. Sibal who is neither trusted by the Anna Hazare nor Baba's camp and Digvijaya Singh who it seems is loosing his mental balance by the passing day!

Editorial is 100% reflecting the mind of yhe people.Will Mr. Manmohan will get up from deep sleep or is he going to get the order from Sonia madam for getting out of sleep.

Now the cat is out of the bag.We are no way better than our neighbour Pakistan and its ZARDARI led ministry. Only here our military is not that strong vis-a-vis the people- so no visible coup attempt!

The presentations of Ramdev and decision making of the Government were not convincing and not mature enough.Time will say who overpowers whom.

Great article, with its low emphasis on the merits of Ramdev. After all, in a democracy any one, even someone who may appear undeserving, immature or opportunistic, has a right to ask the critical questions and certainly cannot be held to public ridicule when offering to fast unto death for the solution. The larger, more telling concern is on the Govt's ability to deal with these issues. Brandishing chits of paper with undertakings scrawled on them, whining about 'he said - she said' and then bullying and terrorizing sleeping protesters because you messed up, are hardly reassuring traits about a party in power that has to lead this country through its various challenges.

The Anna Hazare movement set a bad example for political vigilantism.While Hazare's intentions were noble,Ramdev's 'satyagraha' is a sham with malicious intent.It is nothing more than a publicity stunt with ludicrous demands having no rationality and Ramdev, with the multi-million dollar empire,knows this fully well.All this was gimmickry to give him political clout and unfortunately the government has been very naive about it.While Ramdev deserves as much,he will gain too much mileage out of this and that is sad.The government should have let him starve.

We truly endorse the sentiments and comments you made in the editorial. Alas after so long a time of such an act of imprudence occurred as anybody reckons the saddest incidents of JALLIANWALLAH BAGH where the actions of General Dayyer were vehemently decried by even disciplined Europeans. You are absolutely right in verbatim. Every word is a potent and direct weapon against political bankruptcy.

It's interesting to point out the fact that communal elements are not supposed to fight against corruption. When the fight was led by Anna Hazare everyone supported him. But when Baba Ramdev came into the scene some Indians lost their faith in the fight. The reason is obviously the values that Baba upholds.

All citizens must strongly condemn the brutal manner in which Baba Ramdev's followers have been treated. But one very important that need to be made here is that needs no major political party, particularly the Congress or BJP, has come forward with any plan of action to tackle the menace of black money. In fact there is no serious discussion amongst the two main parties, the Congress and the BJP, about the issues raised by Baba Ramdev and whether the his demands are reasonable, what action can or cannot be taken to bring back money stashed abroad, etc.
BJP appears to be interested in only taking political advantage of the Baba Ramdev agitation and the Congress is interested in saving its image and if possible that of UPA. Citizens like me who happen to be politically neutral wish to appeal to the leaders of major political parties to come together like good statesmen of pre-independence days. Obviously, there may be differences about an action plan but still an acceptable minimum action plan can be drawn and implemented without any administrative delays. Immediate aim should be to reduce the size of further black money generated. Next aim should be to get the money illegally stashed in foreign banks. For this happen, however, the parties have to get rid of such individuals who use their money power to win elections. Can this happen? It is a hope of senior citizens like me that some day in near future this will happen.

At the one hand the UPA govt has taken action on the guilty people of 2G scam and cwg scam and at the other hand the govt. is misconducting with a person who demands fair dealings in the matter of black money. What a political immaturity the govt. is showing ! The govt. has given the message that whoever doesn't negotiate with the govt. in a way that it wants it will teach them a lesson, so that hereafter a person would think ten times before expressing his thoughts and beliefs against UPA.

THE HINDU has hit the nail on the head. But, you have forgtton, to mention about the sheer comical piece of the Delhi Police's theory /postulation in all this drama, that of a 'sudden threat to Baba's life' received late Saturday evening (proof??) as a response to their midnight swoop. Surely, what we are witnessing now , as you have rightly titled in your Editorial, is not only bankruptcy of logical thinking and mature handling by the Political class, but also in the law-enforcing machinery who put up such a weak and absurd defence as an after-thought. There is something that this GOVT. is lacking from its earlier version, when its misdeeds and corruption was not so much in the public eye and when the AAM ADMI was not burdened with sky-rocketing prices as we see now. The lower middle class and the poor are unable to have 2 square meals a day now, and the fire in their belly naturally is showing up in all these agitations. The UPA-II led by MMS , by all fair accounts, has faltered badly and if it has the interests of the citizens at heart, then it is time for them to go on their own , with whatever little dignity that is left. The people of India now want a Mid-Term election now and see if there is an alternative to their present agony and precarious predicament.MMS may have the 'financial integrity' to boast about, but he seems now to be addicted to power, and that too wants it without any accountablity. In my view, it is also true, that Baba Ramdev has muddied the waters, for reasons the people of India are not aware ,when he decided to sit in fast , and in the process tried to give the UPA-II a chance to cultivate him ostensibly to frustate the Anna Hazare team , since the discussions with them have now reached a point where the Govt is forced to make some hard and unpalatable decisons on corruption. In that sense, Baba Ramdev has done a great disservice to the corruption movement that was on the move, and provided a welcome relief to the Govt. by dividing the Civil Society. Ramdevji must have simply told Anna hazare to include the Black Money retrieval as part of his discussions with the Govt. on the LokPal bill and that would have easily avoided what we saw on Saturday night. That he did not do that, implies strong suspicions of furthering his own or someone else's politcal agenda. Chidambaram arrongantly remarked in a 'Devil's Advocate' programme by Karan Thapar some time back, that Nitin Gadkari is not listened to by anyone, when asked about some comments made by the latter. Surely, his own partyman Digvijayaa Singh may soon find himself in that league, and may be , even earn the dubious distinction of being Congress's first General Secretary with strong lunatic propensities.

Congress has miscalulated. The impact will be seen in 2014.

What happened on 4th June'11 is reminding one of position that most of despotic government takes: agree or disappear. No matter how we perceive Baba'a protest against 'Kala Dhan'-black money we the india are counted among the most corrupt societies surviving on the planet. We may boast of higher growth and efficiency but would we be able to sustain it over a period of times if we do not address the concerns raised by the many civil sociteis, political parties and now Ramdeo Baba. All this makes government midnight swoop highly deplorable and anti-democratic and the incumbent dispension should desist from such act of negotiations where it puts GUN on the head of the other negotiators. No democratic and civilised society should tolerate such act of barbarism.

The 2G and other scams and the public reaction to these clearly indicated by the results of the Tamil Nadu election have so unnerved the UPA government that it is running helter-skelter to find a way out. The midnight police swoop on a peaceful assembly of people is an indication of this. The inept UPA leadership stands totally exposed. It is indeed a sad thought for the people of our country.

Bravo! A very nice and balanced editorial confirming to Burke "there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all."
Indian rulers appear to be too dumb to understand that there is ground swell/ bottom up revolution against endemic corruption. The country is taking natural advantage of hyper connected world where there is paradigm shift with very high level of connectivity built on the diffusion of personal computers, fiber-optic cable, the Internet and Web servers. This revolution has made everybody a next door neighbour and enabling billions in a global conversation. In the hyper connected world the old meaning of 'local' is no longer valid. This lesson was in sharp focus in Middle East uprisings. Like the over thrown leaders of Tunisia and Egypt our leaders too are too dumb and slow to understand issues thrown up by the movements of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. It is amateurishly evident that UPA 2 is hell bent on shielding the powerful corrupt. They forget that aam admi too is smart and resorting to the cellphone, the Internet and Face book enabling anyone to find anyone who interests them - and then coordinate with them and share grievances and aspirations. The most important lessons for the rulers of India is that every thing now flows instantly from the most remote corners of the country onto national platform where it gets shared.The Indian leaders by their ham handed brutal police action in Delhi against the peaceful anti corruption mass movement of Baba Ramdev have revealed that they too like House of Bourbon have 'learned nothing and forgotten nothing' and basking in the false sense of security justifying absolutely unjustifiable.

Congress which already paid a heavy price for allying with dmk in the recent elections will pay a heavy price in the next lok sabha elections and will end up again with a single digit figure and may be even lose the status of opposition party. this is sure to happen as we people are boiling on the issues of corruption and heavy price rise with all talks and no action by manmohan singh and party.

The congress leadership, advised and led by a handful of people who don't have their ears to the ground, is to be blamed. A party political command structure that least respects democracy in its own party elections and hence nominates sycophants to party positions is actually unaware of the ground realities. Gone are the days when a mere association with the Gandhi family fetched results. Now the government should be performing as well as seen to be performing. An unbiased analysis of the performance of the party in the elections would explain for itself. Excepting for Assam, the Congress has not made any gains anywhere. Even in Assam, the victory has more to do with Tarun Gogoi's performance more than anything else.
In Kerala, the 'victory' is just a technical one and nothing to be proud about. In Bengal there is nothing to be paraded as without Mamta, the Congress would not have been anywhere. Gujarat is a no man's land for the Congress. Same is the case with MP and Jharkhand. UP is already gone. Bihar has already showed its nose to the 'Amul Baby' who stole their porridge. Tamil Nadu has given them their worst ever performance. UP is a no brainer.
Still if the Congress High Command, euphemism for sycophantic coterie, chooses to ignore the ground reality and continues to alienate the masses, then they shall oversee the complete wipe out of the Congress from the political scene in the next couple of years. A party founded by an European, A.O.Hume, would see its end under the leadership whose origins too are in Europe.

You analysis was good in the beginning, but why do you say that Shri Ramdev's demands are 'bizarre or over-the-top or don't fit into India's constitutional scheme'. Since 1947, our 'constitution' did not stop the pilferage of money from the country. The system systematically made 'frozen' to misdeeds. In the name of policy and administration, the decisions were made to siphon off the money. Most of Indians know about the details of how the money is 'diverted'. Now against this 'terminally ill cancer society' how can NOT a drastic out-of-box solution be necessary? A very drastic and revolutionary change is must and movements started by Shri. Anna and Shri. Ramdev are good things to Indian history. Their backgrounds and intentions may be different, but at least they started change catalyst, which India needs badly. Smt. Sonia Gandhi will be my 'national leader', if she can pass a rule to limit PM terms to 2 times and set retirement age of elected representatives to 65 years and sets transparent elections to Congress Party, NOT SELECTIONS!!

UPA Government has been exposed of their double standards. First they met Baba Ramdev as eye wash and later when their attempt to bury the corruption scandals failed, took this undemocratic action. PM and Sonia need to explain to the people why they are behind this. How can they continue to keep Digvijay Singh in congress, who at every turn discredits others who take up corruption by using indecent language? This is not first time, Digvijay has crossed the line. Congress slowly linking this(Baba Ramdev/Anna Hazare) movement to right wing, and dilute the Lokpal bill. Congress pursuing the divide and rule policy crafted by British Raj. Pity is we dont have a good/clean opposition(BJP is equally corrupt) in this country to bring them down.

As usual this editorial comment is praiseworthy and if the UPA-II government listens to the voice of the people,the purpose of the comment would be fulfilled.Government should not cheat and break its solemn promise to Ramdev.The congress General Secretary's description of Ramdev as a 'THUG' is unwarranted and in bad taste.The Government instead of taking positive action to bring back the black money parked in SWISS BANK, tries to curb a protest being conducted peacefully and in a democratic manner.We feel Government is committing mistakes after mistakes.We wish wise counsel will prevail.

The recent act did by the UPA govt. related to baba ramdev episode is completely unconstitutional and unhuman.It exposes the govt. apathy to abate the corruption.Since so many cases of corruption came into light in which the top brass of the ruling party involved its brought the ruling party into the dock.

It is stunning to see the arrogance of the Indian elite towards the vast working classes of the country. Mr Ramdev's movement drew upon the teeming rural masses; whose mobilization unnerved the powers-that-be which felt a threat to their tenuous hold on the proletariat. And hence this barbaric assault on men, women and children.

You have rightly pointed out that the L'affaire Ramdev, is tragicomic. The action is dictatorial - the government chose to arrest Baba Ramdev, instead of coming out publicly with a plan to tackle the issue of corruption. History has many parallels where the powers that be have sought to arrest those who are opposed to them, even it was for the right causes. We have seen how the current government has hidden under 'technicalities' when it came to unearthing the billions of dollars of black money stashed outside. Then again, the Government itself had found itself embroiled in corruption scandals. We are at a situation where instead of taking steps to check injustice and corruption, the present government has proven to be inept, impotent and of little use to the common man. The singular pursuit of power seems to the only driving force behind the government. No good can come out of such an action like stifling the freedom to protest.

I agree that the UPA Government lacks direction on this subject and their action was not based on priciple of justice and fairplay. Most importantly, people are wondering that despite repeated statements by the PM and Sonia Gandhi that they give top priority to tackle the issue of corruption no tangible change or clear steps towards that change is in sight. In its absence public anger will keep getting reflected through street action and UPA's attempts to malign leaders reflects defeatism, if not immorality. If the UPA had moral authority it could have asserted that people can demand results, but the exact steps to achieve these results is a legal and policy matter best handled through complex Government machinery. However, past inactions are fast eroding such authority and unless Government and UPA leadership shows some quick results to regain public trust, this looks to be a loosing battle for UPA.

Thats true. 'VINASH KALLE VIPREET BUDDHI'. There has been no attempt made by the present congress government to even look into the matter of corruption, black money and funds slashed in offshore accounts. But fierce attempts have been made to thwart any movement being carried out by people or its leaders against black money and corruption. An step further to it Kapil sibal & Pranab mukherjee disclosed to baba Ramedev in private that Black money is driving the economy of our country forward. Remember the same congress gov. appointed P.J Thomas the most corrupt bureaucrat of south india as chief vigilance officer. what a joke on democracy. These people like Sonia/Rahul, Digvijay singh and kapil sibal, which not even constitute 1% of society but have been successful in hijacking the whole country. The country should unite and teach them a lesson.

You are right.The PM has calculated wrong.He has lost all the credibility. He may be a gentleman privately but the acts of his government are not civilized. The police beat up children and women and tear gas to evict them.Ramdev is kidnapped and taken to Haridwar.People like Sibal should be ashamed of their acts.Dr.Singh, you have lost the respect of majority of Indians.

Very balanced editorial - brings out the intellectual poverty so prevalent in Indian ruling class as well as throws light on the schematic and shady politicians whose nexus with bureaucrats and corrupt business class has made life miserable for the whole country.

The government ,sensing the mood of the nation in it's war against corruption and black money and particularly knowing the plan of action of Baba Ramdev should not have demonstrated it's economy in intelligence by according a VVIP reception to the latter that led to the chain of underhand deals with him preceding and during the fast that culminated into what may be called as mutual blackmail,eventually leading to these ugly events . Dr.Singh and his trusted group of emissaries owe an explanation to the country for this monumental blunder.

Some of the demands made by Baba Ramdev might be impractical but the Baba and his supporters could have been persuaded to give up these demands if the Govt. had agreed to take strong and immediate action to deal with the black money stored in secret bank accounts in tax havens abroad. However, the UPA Govt. does not seem to be in a hurry to deal with the twin issues of corruption and black money. The Congress party bosses do not seem to get it that the people are fed up with the Government's delibrate inaction on these these two issue.