“MY fight against black money and corruption will continue till my last breathe. There is no question of bowing down before the bhrashtachari (corrupt) and atyachari (cruel) government. Earlier, I conducted a tour of one lakh km and contacted 10 crore people, but now I will contact 40 crore people all over the country. It is now beyond any doubt that the UPA government has no will to fight corruption, create a strong Lokpal or bring back the black money stashed away abroad. It is muzzling voices of those who talk about black money or tell the truth,” said Baba Ramdev in New Delhi on June 26.
Returning Delhi three weeks after the June 5 predawn crackdown on his Ramlila Grounds satyagraha, Baba Ramdev first visited GB Pant Hospital where one of his supporters Rajbala is undergoing treatment. Rajbala was grievously injured in the police crackdown at Ramlila Maidan. “Rajbala is in very critical condition. Only a miracle can save her if the ventilator is removed. Even if she lives, she won’t be able to walk again. She is paralysed for life,” said Baba. “Rajbala’s condition is a proof that supporters were baton charged. At the moment Rajbala’s hands and legs are lifeless. There are injury marks on her neck, baton marks on her back and legs. The police say that they didn’t baton charge, then why is Rajbala in this condition, who broke her neck?” he asked.
After being forcefully ousted from Ramlila Maidan on June 4, Baba Ramdev continued his fast in Haridwar and Dehradun till June 12. He broke the fast after persuasion by senior saints including Sri Sri Ravishankar Guruji, Shri Morari Bapu and others.
Talking to mediapersons at Constitution Club, he termed the crackdown at Ramlila Maidan as ‘murder of democracy’, and alleged that it was aimed at eliminating him and that there were ‘attempts to rape women satyagrahis’ by drunken men during the police action. He claimed that he has sufficient proofs of police atrocities and he would put them before the Supreme Court. He described the incident of June 4 as ‘the most cruel and brutal incident of the history’.
Vocally and visibly aggressive, the yoga guru denied accusations that he had illegally organised the massive protest at Ramlila Grounds and openly challenged the government to unearth black money if he had any. “The government can use all its force to detect if I have any black money. If the government finds any black money from Re one or Rs one lakh crore with me, it can seize it and declare it as national asset,” he said daring the government to come clean on black money. “If it is not their money, then I ask why are they afraid of declaring it as national property? I have uploaded all the details of my accounts on website. Now the government should do the same,” he added. He also asked the government to make the details of Rs 200 lakh crore tax collected by it, public.
Continuing his scathing attack on the Congress, Baba said, “If raising the issue of black money was wrong, if I was communal, if I was a Naxal, if I was a terrorist, why did four ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. drove to the airport to meet me? Why did the Prime Minister write to me? My fault was that I was talking about empowering villages by eradicating corruption,” he said demanding to make the record of his last minute dialogue with Kapil Sibal over telephone on June 4 public. He claimed that Sibal had assured him to issue an ordinance declaring black money as national property and also agreed to majority of his demands.
He denied the allegations that he was the mask of BJP or RSS. “I have been accused that I am the mask of a party or a Hindu outfit. If the government calls that particular party or outfit being against the country, then it should ban them. I am face of no party, I am the face of billions of people of this nation who want that corruption must end and black money should be brought back,” he said. “What crime did we do by asking for establishment of fast track courts against corruption and a strong Lokpal Bill? If we were doing something undemocratic, or if we were culpable of punishment, then why did ministers come to meet me at the hotel?” he asked. Baba Ramdev made it clear that he would lend support to any organisation or outfit which fights against corruption and black money.
He announced to develop at least one model village in every district of the country. The first such developed model village will be dedicated to the nation on August 4 and other villages will be developed within two years.
