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Tag: Ramlila Ground

  • Ramdev Threats Govt to Hold Armed Protest in Delhi Next Time

    Ramdev Threats Govt to Hold Armed Protest in Delhi Next Time

    BeyondHeadlines New Desk

    New Delhi: Angry with the police action on his camp at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground on late Saturday night, Baba Ramdev has warned the central government this morning that he would stage armed protest at same venue next time and that his followers would be ready to retaliate, NDTV reported.

    “Next time at Ramlila, it will be Ravanlila. Let’s see who gets beaten up,” the yoga guru threatened the government in clear terms.

     

    Courtesy: AP

    Baba Ramdev detailed the arms training plan: “Twenty youth from each region will come forward for the fight against corruption. These young people should be 35-40 years old. Not only men, young women must also join them. They must be dedicated, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. They will be given arms training. We will build an army of 11,000 men and women.”

    After his eviction from Delhi and his return to the ashram in Haridwar, Baba Ramdev had announced that he was resuming his indefinite hunger-strike against black money and corruption. He has been constantly making statements about his plans to take his crusade forward from his headquarters and on Tuesday, he struck a more benign note when he said he “forgave” the Prime Minister and his government at a personal level.

    “I forgive the PM and government for atrocities and wrongs done to me…but for destroying democracy, the nation will have to decide,” he said. And with the latter political statement, he also added that he was once again “open to talking to the government, if they approach us.”

    On Saturday, Baba Ramdev had begun a hunger-strike at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. The Delhi Police, stating that he had permission only to hold a yoga camp with 5,000 in attendance and not a protest with over 50,000 people, had dismantled the camp, where 65,000 people had gathered before they were lathicharged and tear gassed.

    The Baba himself was evicted and then flown back to his headquarters in Hardwar on the government’s orders.

    In Delhi on Monday, the Supreme Court asked the government to explain its action – at a characteristically lengthy speech in Uttarakhand, the Baba said he was grateful for the court’s intervention.

    He also said that he rejected the Delhi Police’s version of events. “The Delhi Police is lying. They beat up people. They said that people were injured in a stampede. None of our workers provoked violence.” He also said that “the Mahatma would be crying” about the government’s treatment of the women and children who he claims were attacked on Saturday night.

    The government has banned the Baba from entering Delhi for the next 15 days. While the yoga teacher is accustomed to whipping up crowds that run into thousands, he now faces the unique problem of where to set up a new base camp for his “satyagraha against corruption.”  He was hoping to bring his movement to Noida in Uttar Pradesh, but Chief Minister Mayawati has rejected that proposal on the grounds that it could lead to a law and order problem.

     

  • Baba Ramdev’s Missing Close Aide Acharya Balkrishna Appears Before Media

    Baba Ramdev’s Missing Close Aide Acharya Balkrishna Appears Before Media

    BeyondHeadlines Special Correspondent

    Haridwar (Uttarakhand): Baba Ramdev’s key aide Acharya Balkrishna, who had gone missing since the Sunday night police action at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground Maidan, suddenly appeared on the scene in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, today. He claimed that he was an Indian and not a citizen of Nepal as claimed by Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh.

    Balkrishna said that all allegations made against him were false and that he had not appeared in public as he was injured during the crackdown and was not well. He alleged that he was badly beaten up by the Delhi Police during the crackdown.


    “I was born in India, and my parents are from Nepal. Many Nepalese are born in India. The Indian constitution gives us rights to be citizen of this country. I am Indian according to the Constitution of India. I was born in Haridwar, I was educated in India. I have been working in India,” said Balkrishna while addressing a press conference in Haridwar.

    Singh had alleged that Balkrishna was a citizen of Nepal and held a Nepalese passport. Singh had also claimed that Balkrishna committed a crime in Nepal and fled to India.

    However, when asked about allegations of having fled Nepal after committing a crime, he refused to reply.

    Condemning the police crackdown on Ramlila Maidan as unfortunate, Balkrishna said, “I was not trying to flee but was hiding to avoid the brutality of police. I was beaten by police at the Ramlila ground.”

    Stating that he stayed with the followers of Ramdev, he said, “I have tried hard to arrange for the medicines for the injured. We are trying to reach out to all the other followers who were injured but managed to move out of Delhi. The government is not concerned about the injured in the crackdown.”

    In a press conference, Balkrishna said he would continue his fast like Baba Ramdev to continue the fight against corruption.

    Clearing allegations of him being a citizen of Nepal, he said, “I am Indian of Nepali origin born in Haridwar.”

    Earlier in the day, his parents sent an SOS to the government of Nepal today, asking for an initiative to find the whereabouts of their disappeared son.

    The 39-year-old’s father, Jay Ballav Subedi, and mother Sumitra, who live in Bharuwa, a remote village in western Nepal’s Syangja district, also refuted allegations by Digvijay Singh, general secretary of Congress party, that their son had been involved in criminal activities in Nepal and had obtained an Indian passport illegally.

    Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) ordered an inquiry into the complaints against Balkrihna. PMO officials said that an anonymous complaint was received three days ago against Balkrishna.

    Ramdev’s key men reportedly run and maintain a maze of companies.

    Over 200 businesses from broadcasting companies, including Aastha TV to food parks, are run by his trusted lieutenants Acharya Balkrishna and Mukta Anand. There are no specific charges against them that the finance ministry is looking at, but a detailed income tax survey is currently being done.

  • Govt Says Lokpal Bill Draft Will Be Ready Without Consulting Hazare Team If it Boycott Next Meeting

    BeyondHeadlines Staff Reporter

    New Delhi: Reacting strongly on the Anna Hazare-led civil society members announcement to boycott the next meeting of the drafting committe of the Lopal Bill, the government has said that it will prepare the legislation for Parliament’s monsoon session with or without Hazare’s team.

    Human Resource Minister (HRD) Kapil Sibal, who is one of the five ministers on the joint drafting panel, criticised civil society members, saying calling ministers “cheats, liars and tricksters” was “unacceptable.”

    “The kind of language and discourse that the civil society members, led by Anna Hazare, are indulging in against the government, calling the ministers cheats, liars and tricksters is unacceptable. We reject in strongest possible terms this load of allegations laid by Anna Hazare that the government is telling lies and the ministers are cheats,” Sibal said.

    Reacting to a letter written by committee joint chairperson Shanti Bhushan that raised doubts over the government’s intentions in drafting the anti-graft law, Sibal said civil society members were raising ‘extraneous’ issues not connected with the drafting of Lokpal. “Even in their absence, we discussed and passed several sections of the draft bill. We have a commitment to the people of India and we are bound by it. We will continue to discuss the draft bill and ensure it is before Parliament in the monsoon session,” Sibal told a press conference here.

    He also appealed to the members of the civil society to join the committee meetings. “I can only request them to come. There is no connection between what happened in Ramlila Ground and the drafting of the bill,” he said. Sibal said the panel’s mandate was to draft the bill, but it will have to go to the Cabinet for approval and finally to Parliament for passing.

    Shanti Bhushan had, in a letter to joint chairperson of the drafting panel and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the five civil society members led by Anna Hazare were keeping away from the day’s meeting as the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev at Ramlila Ground had “strengthened the doubts a strong anti-corruption body.

    “Recent events since our last meeting don’t inspire any confidence that the government is serious enough about the Lokpal bill. Further, what happened in the Ramlila Ground strengthened our doubts,” Shanti Bhushan said in the letter. He also sought rescheduling of the next meeting of the committee on Friday to some other date because of Hazare’s prior engagements. Activists have demanded that the government make public its stand on key issues relating to the proposed Lokpal bill, including the ombudsman’s ambit.

    The question of the Lokpal’s ambit has been a bone of contention between the government and civil society. The letter amplifies on the issue. The civil society representatives argue that the government wants to keep “practically everyone out of the Lokpal’s ambit -Prime Minister, horse trading of MPs, middle and lower bureaucracy, judiciary.” The civil society has been pushing for santri to mantri model, which would bring everyone under the purview of the proposed ombudsman.

     

  • There Are Enough Laws to Tackle Black Money; Parliament Cannot Take Dictation From Self-Appoi​nted Crusaders: Union Commerce and Industry Minister

    There Are Enough Laws to Tackle Black Money; Parliament Cannot Take Dictation From Self-Appoi​nted Crusaders: Union Commerce and Industry Minister

    BeyondHeadlines News Desk

    New Delhi: Making an attempt to rescue the government from the nationwide reaction on the crackdown of Baba Ramdev, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said yesterday that there were enough laws to tackle black money and that Parliament could not take a dictation from self-appointed crusaders.

    Talking to The Indian Express yesterday, Sharma said, “There are enough laws to tackle ill gotten money — be it from money laundering, crime or drug trafficking. The government’s actions so far were only to defuse the tension.”

    The minister admitted that such events did result in a negative projection of India in international forums. “But, our global partners will surely see through the political agenda,” Sharma said. “India has a rule-based governance system. Such decisions cannot be made in the streets and chowks.”

    The issue of black money is complex and the government is seriously addressing it. “We have signed agreements with a large number of countries including the Bahamas, Channel Islands, Switzerland. India is also part of the international task force set up on this issue by the G-20. The government is sincere and committed to tackling the black money issue,” he said.

    Sharma said in his meeting with industry captains in the two cities, there was general concern about these self-appointed activists being unelected and unaccountable to any institution. “There are issues that need to be taken care of through legislation. There is a clear political agenda behind orchestrating such events,” he said.

    In a press statement earlier in the evening, he claimed that developments in the recent weeks to project India as a country of scams and corruption were part of a diabolic and sinister political agenda. “The coercive attempts to hold the state to ransom and dictate to Parliament in discharge of its sovereign function have no place in democracy,” he said.

    According to him, Ramdev’s agitation was a coalition of a partisan political agenda and political forces rejected by democratic processes in recent elections. “Hiding behind the mask were communalist and fascist forces — Bajrang Dal, RSS and VHP which had at their heart an aim to destabilise Indian polity.”

  • Ramdev Row: Hazare to Launch One-Day Nationwide Hunger Strike on June 8, His Team to Boycott Joint Committee Meeting to Draft Lokpal Bill

    BeyondHeadlines Staff Reporter

    New Delhi: Veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare has made his stand on the Lokpal Bill all the more tougher following the forceful eviction of Baba Ramdev from Delhi’s Ramlila Ground. Although the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the centre made so far made several efforts to give explanations in support of the early morning of June 5 crackdown  on the yoga guru, Hazare is no more ready to soften his stand calling the government’s intention to curb corruption “suspect.”

    His group, which comprises of RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh, former Union law Minister Shanti Bhusham, among others, has decided to boycott the meetings of the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill till the government come clear on some of the key issues related to that proposed legislation. It also announced its decision to observe a one-day nationwide hunger strike on June 8 to protest against the government’s action against Ramdev and threatened to re-launch its agitation at Jantar Mantar if the government continued to dither on taking anti-corruption measures.

    Addressing the media, Hazare said: “We are writing a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee raising certain issues on the Lokpal Bill. We have already made our stand clear on these issues. We would like the government to also state where it stands. After we receive the government’s response, we will decide whether any useful purpose can be served by our attending the committee meetings.”

    In addition, the group said it would attend future meetings of the joint committee only if they were telecast live.

    The next meeting of the 10-member joint committee is scheduled for today. Hazare and four of his colleagues — Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Santosh Hegde and Arvind Kejriwal — are the non-government representatives on the panel that also has five ministers as members. Pranab Mukherjee and Shanti Bhushan are the co-chairs of the committee that has given itself until June 30 to draft a strong legislation to set up the office of Lokpal. The panel, which was constituted in response to an agitation launched by Hazare, has had three meetings so far.

    “The government has been trying to crush the anti-corruption movement. We have therefore decided not to attend the joint committee meetings,” Hazare said.

    Shanti Bhushan went to the extent of demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers for the crackdown on Ramdev. He said the action was reminiscent of the Emergency years and sought an explanation from the Prime Minister on the reasons that provoked the police assault.

    Interestingly, the belligerent stand of the Hazare group came on a day when its version of the Lokpal Bill came under sharp attack from a number of prominent civil society voices, including former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah and former BSF director general Prakash Singh.

    At a debate organised by the Foundation for Media Professionals, these independent voices tore into the stringent provisions being proposed in the Lokpal Bill by Hazare and his colleagues, saying investing the office of the Lokpal with extraordinary powers to investigate, prosecute and act as a judge would be counter-productive.

    “Let us not draw a legislation that can be challenged on the grounds that it is violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. It would be wrong to assume that the Lokpal in itself would be able to change the world. Please do not overload the Lokpal with so much work that it gets crushed under its own responsibility and public expectations,” Prakash Singh said.

    Environmental lawyer and social activist Usha Ramanathan said the kind of powers that are envisaged to be given to the Lokpal would invariably corrupt the institution, a view echoed by A P Shah as well. Shah favoured the exclusion of judiciary from the purview of the Lokpal.