Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Ananth Kumar on Thursday compared the situation at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday-Monday night to the Emergency. The government tried to stifle the voice of peaceful protesters through police action, he told journalists here.
Mr. Kumar alleged that Sonia Gandhi, as head of the National Advisory Council, tried to take credit for all the good work done by the government but distanced herself from its acts of omissions and commissions. The Ramlila Maidan episode could not have happened without her clearance.
Signalling the BJP's full support to yoga expert Baba Ramdev, Mr. Kumar said the party would remain in “war mode” on corruption.
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From June 23 to 26, the BJP would organise public meetings throughout the country to remind people of the excesses during the Emergency.
On the criticism that the BJP was now a camp follower of social activist Anna Hazare and Ramdev, instead of leading the cry against corruption, Mr. Kumar said the civil society took up the issue of corruption and black money long after the BJP leadership flagged it in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP fully supported Ramdev's campaign..