Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 28, 2011
Baba Ramdev launched his campaign against
black money by singling out the Congress in front of a big crowd at Ramlila
Maidan here on Sunday. The yoga guru, who recently confirmed his desire to
enter the political arena, called the UPA the most corrupt and held the Congress
Congress responsible for 99% of corruption in the country as the party has
been in power the longest.
The saffron tilt was hard to miss as poet
Hariom Pawar recited a line from his poem: "Lohpurush jaisa sardar nahin
milta (No strong leader like Sardar these days)"-an allusion to Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel who features prominently in the Sangh pantheon.
The focus on the Congress as well as the presence
of BJP MPs Ram Jethmalani and Balbir Punj, former BJP general secretary Govindacharya
and Subramanian Swamy, a known Gandhi family-baiter, deepened the suspense
about Ramdev's plans and can call into question his claim of being non-partisan.
The assorted cast that gave him company on
the occasion included social worker Anna Hazare, RTI campaigner Arvind Kejriwal
and leading civil society activists like Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh. Muslim
religious leaders were also present.
While Kejriwal and Bedi spoke principally
about the Lok Pal Bill, the unified efforts of all the others centred on proving
that the association of the Congress leadership with black money was the root
cause of government reluctance.
L K Advani's apology was conveniently forgotten
as his BJP colleague Jethmalani invoked reports in Swiss and Russian papers
alleging that members of the Gandhi family had accounts in foreign banks.
Advani recently expressed regret to Congress
president Sonia Gandhi when the same allegation was made in a report prepared
by a task force put together by him.
