Anna to join Ramdev’s fast Sibal, Bansal To Dissuade Baba From Going Ahead With Fast

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The challenge posed by Baba Ramdev’s threatened fast grew stiffer for the government with Anna Hazare declaring he will join forces with the yoga guru over his demand for recovery of black money illegally stashed abroad.
    “I will support Ramdev so that the government does not do what it did when we were fighting. We will fight together against corruption,” he said. Hazare said the government had buckled during his fast, but had gone back on its words thereafter.
    Setting aside perceptions of differences and rivalry with the guru, Hazare said he would share the stage with Ramdev at Delhi’s Ramlila ground on Saturday. Dismissing the guru’s high pressure wooing by the government as diversionary tactics, he urged Ramdev not to succumb to the Centre’s overtures.
    The impasse was discussed by the Congress core group on Thursday where it was decided that HRD minister Kapil Sibal and parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal will meet Ramdev on Friday to dissuade him from going ahead with his fast.
    A likely offer could be a promise to tighten laws to prevent siphoning off money from India to tax havens abroad and more intense efforts to pursue wealth hidden abroad. The outcome of Friday’s interaction is crucial to framing the government response if the guru remains unmoved.
    On the criticism of a four-minister reception committee for Ramdev at Delhi airport on Wednesday, it was explained that initially two ministers were to travel to Madhya Pradesh to meet the yoga guru. After the core group meeting, it was clarified that there are no party-government differences on the level of engagement with Ramdev.
    The decision of the Hazare group to sink differences with Ramdev who had opposed its proposals to include the Prime Minister and judiciary in the ambit of the Lokpal bill — spells more trouble for a beleaguered government as its attempts to reach an understanding with the influential guru failed to yield result so far. Cong clams up on Baba
    There were plenty of back channel exchanges with Baba Ramdev speaking to tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay, one of the four ministers who met him on Wednesday, and Ramdev agreed to call off a press interaction in view of the ongoing talks. The government worked hard to figure out how to meet the guru’s demand for concrete steps on retrieving black money.
    A middle path seems elusive as Ramdev’s demands for either an ordinance to ensure return of black money or a timeframe are not easy to meet. With Anna Hazare also warning Ramdev that the government will forget its words if he calls off his protest, retreating is that much more difficult.
    “When I was on fast, the government agreed, but has now backed off on the Lokpal,” Hazare said at his village, Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra. The reemergence of the Gandhian can be hardly reassuring for the government that was brought to its knees by his four-day fast at Jantar Mantar in April. Government sources also refuted criticism of ministers meeting Ramdev, pointing out that by deputing finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to meet the guru, the government indicated it was serious about tackling black money. It would also demonstrate that the Centre did all it could if Ramdev is bent on forcing a confrontation. The BJP is, on its part, in no mood to bail out the government and is lukewarm to the Centre’s bid to rope in political parties and states in the consultation over the Lok Pal bill. On black money it is solidly batting for Ramdev.
    Even if Ramdev does go on fast, the government is keen that it should not prolong and precipitate a medical crisis. The government is also keenly weighing its options in case talks with the guru fail and there is no clear understanding of how far he will go. The final call will be taken closer to when Ramdev’s fast gets underway on June 4 morning.
    Congress clammed up on Ramdev on Thursday with critics of the Baba like general secretary Digvijay Singh maintaining that he had not changed his views but would not offer any fresh comment. The decision seems well considered as the government is straining to defuse the ticking Ramdev bomb. The Congress core group meeting was followed by a discussion involving the four ministers in touch with Ramdev along with defence minister A K Antony, home minister P Chidambaram, law minister M Veerappa Moily, cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar and home secretary G K Pillai.
    The meeting is believed to have discussed the government’s options in case the yoga guru went ahead with his plans for a fast till death and the possibility of a large turnout of followers at Ramlila Maidan.
    While Congress leaders in Delhi kept silent, party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said in Patna that the party had no differences with Hazare and Ramdev on fighting corruption.

BABA DISCOURSE GROWS

Tell me which demand I raised is unreasonable. Seeking gallows for those who committed corruption to the tune of Rs 10 cr, Rs 50 cr, Rs 1,000 cr or Rs 1 lakh cr?
BABA RAMDEV

If Congress was scared, Ramdev would have been put behind bars. There is no fear, that is why he is out in the open
    DIGVIJAY SINGH

I will support Ramdev so that the govt doesn’t do what it did when we were fighting... Sign papers, make promises. Once the time passes, they will do what they want to
ANNA HAZARE

One should do one’s job. If anyone wants to become a neta to do things, that is not the right way to raise an issue
    SHAH RUKH KHAN