Continuing his tirade against Baba Ramdev and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh derided Lal Krishna Advani on Tuesday for comparing the incident at Ramlila grounds in Delhi with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Talking to journalists at the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters here on Tuesday, Mr. Singh also demanded an apology from Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj for dancing at the BJP's dharna at a “hallowed place like Rajghat.”
“It is not known whether Ms. Swaraj's dance was an expression of happiness or anger, but she should apologise to the nation as Rajghat is associated with Mahatma Gandhi whose prestige had been lowered and the BJP should be ashamed of the act,” he said.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister accused the yoga expert of cheating the country. Mr. Singh said there could be no greater insult to Swami Vivekananda than the BJP comparing Ramdev with him. “The BJP's yatra which started with Lord Rama has ended in Ramdev.”
He was emphatic that Ramdev's campaign was organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to “divert people's attention from evidence of the Sangh's involvement in terror acts.”
On Mr. Advani's comparison of the Ramlila incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, he said the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a watershed in the freedom struggle where hundreds of Indians were killed by General Dyer's forces.
Mr. Singh said the demand for bringing back black money to the country was raised by Mr. Advani only when he was the BJP's prime minister-in-waiting (in the 2009 elections).
“Moreover, the basis of Mr. Advani's claim that Rs. 72 lakh crore in black money was stashed abroad and Ramdev's claim that it was to the tune of Rs. 400 lakh crore was unknown.”
He said the decision to execute the midnight action at the Ramlila grounds was taken by the Delhi police, and not by the UPA government.
“Had the police action been taken during daytime, there would have been utter chaos,” Mr. Singh argued.
Accusing Ramdev of doing a somersault on the deal with the government, the Congress leader said permission had been sought and granted by the administration for conducting a yoga camp at Ramlila grounds from June 2 to 30, and not for a fast or “theatrics.”
“In the meantime, talks continued with the government and the deal was clinched following a letter given by Baba's assistant Bal Krishna. However, Ramdev said no agreement had been arrived at,” Mr. Singh said.
“Baba Ramdev deceived the government and his followers,” he alleged.
He said the Congress was sensitive to the issues of corruption and black money and it had taken several measures.
