The titan of tensile, yoga guru Baba Ramdev was in the city, talking about black money, Swiss banks and why yoga needs to be part of mainstream education
The titan of tensile, yoga guru Baba Ramdev was in the city, talking about black money, Swiss banks and why yoga needs to be part of mainstream education
Close on the heels of Anna Hazare's successful endeavour for tougher anti-graft legislations, Baba Ramdev, the Yog Guru who is credited with popularising and reviving Yoga, has announced his Bhrashtachaar Mitao Satyagraha against black money and subsequent corruption that it results in. Baba Ramdev addressed a press conference yesterday at Vaibhav Chambers, Bandra-Kurla complex.u00a0 Speaking against the government and its inaction in getting the money from Swiss banks back into the country, he came up with a three-pointer action plan. Ramdev claimed he has already written a letter to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, asking him for implementation of the action plan. Ramdev said that if the government fails to do so, he would go on an indefinite fast from June 4 at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi.
Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
Manmohan Singh
Speaking at length about the Prime Minister (PM), Ramdev claimed that he met him regarding the same issue.
The PM, claims Ramdev, even agreed with him on some of the issues. Ramdev said, "The purpose I am fighting for will not be fulfilled unless I receive an all party support. Regardless of who is ruling and who is in the opposition, the laws have to be passed. The Government is, after all, elected by us, so we should make sure it is a corruption free Government that takes care of out security." Hinting at the government's unwillingness to do anything to bring back all the money stashed away in banks abroad he said, "Why otherwise would the Parliament not take part in the United Nations Conventions Against Corruption (UNCAC)? India signed the convention on the last day which was December 9, 2005; delaying the country's involvement by almost two years since the convention was started."
Free India?
The third demand in his three-pointer action plan is to abolish laws that the Britishers had enacted and India still follows. "Why is it that we need the Land Acquisition Act? It is the reason so many farmers are committing suicide. Main ek krushi putra hoon.u00a0 I know what the land means to the farmers." Launching his tirade against big denomination money (notes higher than Rs 100), he cited the original purpose of it was to help Britishers carry cash from India to Britain. According to Ramdev, notes of higher denomination helps in circulation of black money. He said in a country where majority of the population doesn't have more than Rs 20 to spend in a day, a 500 or 1,000 rupee note was unnecessary.
On Yoga
The Baba of Patanjali Yogpeeth was fearless answering tough questions during the press conference. In the post conference interview he was chatty. Talking about education, Ramdev said, "I am educated enough and that makes me a better spiritual leader than somebody who is uneducated. From the start I knew that education was important but my true calling was in Yog." Speaking about his suggestion to include Yoga as a subject in mainstream education, he said as a child it was Yoga that gave him peace of mind and also reduced anger levels. "I think children today need Yoga as a part of their everyday lives. This idea of mine is implemented in many government schools already and has yielded positive results." Ramdev said that 'Gandhi, My Father', was the only movie he has watched till date, that too, when somebody suggested to him that the movie had nothing vulgar in it.
Public Life
In an age of micro blogging and Twitter followers, why isn't the Baba a part of the social media to connect with his followers? "Simply because the connection is already there. A lot of my followers are youngsters, people in their 20s. What else do I need?" Does it bother him that fighting corruption would soon become a fashionable cause and so-called protestors would cotton on with little idea of what the movement was about?u00a0"Such things are not to be worried about, I think people are intelligent about what is going on, and why such a big change is needed, and they only need to be channelised in the right direction. My trust never accepts any donation in cash, it is all in demand drafts and cheques, so I can prove all corruption charges against me to be false."
Political Stunt?
Rubbishing reports of him having any political aspirations he said that what he is aspiring for is public lobbying. "When industrialists and people with money can force the Government to change laws, toh hum kyun nahi?" he asked. Ramdev added, "When an audience of 10 crore follows you, I have a responsibility to use such a following into shaping something positive for the country. This Satyagraha is a step towards a no diseased India," he said. On being asked why he wasn't a part of the Lokpal Bill's drafting as a member of the civil society he tersely replied,u00a0 "I never aspired to be a part of it." Dodging any questions about his alleged link with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Ramdev said it was just a matter of time when the truth would come out into the open.u00a0"I stay out of controversy as far as I can, but if people hint that I am doing something corrupt, there should be a law to prove it and then charge me for it. We need to include a death penalty in the Lokpal Bill, and make our laws strong enough to stop corruption altogether."
Illegal Money
Speaking at length about his campaign against corruption, that started on the November 14 last year, Ramdev claimed that around 18 trillion dollars (according to estimates) stored in Swiss banks belongs to people in Asian countries and pre-dominantly Indians. "These estimates are made by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and also supported by International Monetary Fund (IMF). If all this money is declared as the property of the Indian Government, then the suffering economy of the country would be supported and the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) growth would be greater than that of China," he said. This along with two other demands, are included in his three-pointer plan against corruption.
Against corruption
Right to Information Act
Right to Information (RTI) Act came into being in 2005 and has been widely used by activists to seek information from various government run departments. Last year in January leading RTI activist Satish Shetty, who exposed many land scams in Maharashtra, was killed by unidentified men at Talegaon on the outskirts of Pune. Shetty shot to fame after exposing certain corrupt land deals in and around the country's first expressway, the Mumbai-Pune expressway, over a decade ago. Following Shetty's death, RTI activists are demanding that the government officials should not disclose the name and address of the RTI applicants to anyone . Recently, RTI activist Vijay Kusekar was beaten up at Shirur in Pune. He had lodged a formal complaint against the miscreants, but they were released on the same day. Kusekar had filed an RTI for obtaining information on the government schemes on the rehabilitation of slums.
Jan Lokpal Bill
In India, the Jan Lokpal Bill is a draft anti-corruption bill that would create an independent body would investigate corruption position, create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal system that effectively deters corruption while providing effective protection to whistleblowers. The bill proposes the institution of Lokpal the centre and Lokayuktas at the state level. For 42 years, the government-drafted bill has failed to pass through the Rajya Sabha. Social activist Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike on April 5 demanding tougher anti-graft legislation. He ended his five day hunger strike after the government gave into his demands. 
Against corruption: Anna Hazare
Previous Cases:u00a0
>> Navin Pandya of AGNI was threatened and attacked in September 2009
>>u00a0In March 2006, James John of AGNI was threatened and assaulted in March 2006
>>u00a0Sumaira Abdulali was threatened and assaulted in May 2004
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