Monday, June 6, 2011

Government Action Against Baba Ramdev

The treatment that was meted out to Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev in New Delhi, who was on a hunger strike over the issue of black money and corruption, is not good. First, he was accorded very high status, but when things went wrong, the police swooped down at midnight when the Yoga Guru and his supporters were resting and took him into custody. The Delhi police cancelled the permission given for the Yoga camp and started taking action against his followers by barging into the tent. The police have also registered a complaint against unknown persons for rioting and obstructing government employees from carrying out their work. A ban has been imposed on Yoga Guru on his entry into Delhi for 15 days.
Violation of Terms of Permission
The government says that he was given permission to conduct a Yoga camp, but he violated the terms of the permission. It is very painful that several supporters and workers of Ramdev have been injured in this incident and many of which have been admitted to hospitals. How did things come to this pass when the government and the Yoga Guru had reached an agreement on 3 June?

The government accepted all the demands of the Yoga Guru and had given it in writing to him. It was expected that Ramdev would announce to end his hunger strike by 4 June evening, but that did not happen. It seems that some misunderstanding between the two spoilt the things.
Adding Fuel to Fire
Ramdev announced to continue his fast-unto-death and called upon his followers to march to Delhi. The government also could not exercise restraint. It made the Yoga Guru's letter regarding agreement public. This added fuel to the fire. The round of allegations and counter-allegations that began between the two further vitiated the atmosphere, which ultimately resulted in the strict police action.
The main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has reacted strongly over the incident and has condemned the police brutality. The Delhi Police says that the Yoga Guru was neither arrested nor taken into custody, but the action was taken in view of his security. He is in his Patanjali Ashram at Haridwar, where he has said that his fast-unto-death still continues and will continue until his demands are met. When the Yoga Guru was on hunger strike in a peaceful manner, the government should have refrained from taking such action.

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