MakadJaal

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Hindu : News / National : Sprawling Ramlila Maidan braces for Baba Ramdev's 'satyagrah'

Arrangements include tents over 2.5 lakh sq. m. and medical centre with ICU

With yoga guru Baba Ramdev's “satyagrah” against corruption and black money due to begin this Saturday, the Ramlila Maidan here is gearing for the campaign in which a large number of people from across the country are expected to join.

According to the Bharat Swabhiman Trust, which is organising the event, the arrangements in place for the event include setting up tents over the 2.5 lakh square metre area of the ground, 1,300 toilets, a separate reverse osmosis plant for providing drinking water, 7,800 water taps, 1,000 fans and 250 coolers. A team of 60 doctors will also be at hand. A medical centre with ICU facility and 40 beds is also being arranged. However, fire safety clearance is yet to be issued to the organisers.

On Thursday, labourers were seen engaged in setting up tents and fixing flags and posters and participants, including volunteers from various organisations as well as ordinary citizens, were filling up forms at separate registration desks organised State-wise at the entry point.

Drinking water

Delhi unit head of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust Virender Singh said: “While participants, who have arrived from outside Delhi are at present housed in nearby guest houses, they will shift to the ground once the agitation kicks off on Saturday. Providing drinking water facility is a major concern in this hot weather, which is why, besides installing water taps, we have also arranged for four water tankers and will also be utilising the MCD water bore-well on the premises.”

“Over 10 sub-committees have been formed to look into the arrangements. Contrary to what is being reported, no air-conditioned rooms or tents has been provided for Baba Ramdev or any celebrities or VVIP guests expected to attend the campaign. The Baba will be resting in a tent like all others,” he added.

According to Mr. Singh, the schedule of events during the satyagrah include sandhya yagna, updesh pravachan and ashtang yog, which will continue non-stop from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Heavy security

Strict security arrangements are being made at the site through deployment of police force and installation of CCTV cameras. Police officials confirmed that the present deployment of one company of Delhi Police personnel at the site would go up to 10 companies, comprising about 700 policemen, by Saturday.

Bomb squad

A senior police officer said: “Apart from police deployment, a watch would also be maintained over the nearby high-rise buildings, and an anti-sabotage and bomb squad would be present. A token system for securing baggage of participants would be followed to check theft. Searching, frisking and ground surveys through hand-held metal detectors are already taking place and would further intensify from Saturday.”

1 lakh registrations

“About 1 lakh people have registered so far and by Saturday the figure is expected to swell to 3 lakh, so accordingly we too have to step up our efforts,” he added.

A missed call campaign and a Facebook page have also been dedicated to the cause by the organisers and supporters of Baba Ramdev's anti-corruption movement.

“So far about 50 lakh people have extended their support to us through the missed call campaign, which started 10 days ago,” Mr. Singh added.

Keywords: Ramlila Maidan, Baba Ramdev, anti-corruption, black money

The Hindu : News / National : Manmohan briefs Patil about talks with Ramdev

As senior Ministers struggled to persuade Baba Ramdev to give up his proposed fast, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday briefed President Pratibha Patil on the progress of talks with the yoga guru.

During the 40-minute meeting, Dr. Singh briefed the President about his recent visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania and also about the “ongoing dialogue with Baba Ramdev”, a Rashtrapati Bhavan release said.

Various other issues of national and international importance were also discussed during the meeting, the release added.

Keywords: Baba Ramdev fast, Manmohan Singh, Pratibha Patil

The Hindu : News / National : Government working on formula for Ramdev

If the effort fails, tough action may be an option

As the deadline for Baba Ramdev's proposed hunger strike on the issue of black money drew near, the Union government continued to work on a formula that would make the Yoga guru abandon his threat: “Baba Ramdev must be made to feel he has achieved something through his campaign,” ministerial sources told The Hindu. They added that “on Friday, at the next round of talks, he will be told about the government's intentions to deal with the key issues [on corruption] that he has raised, possibly with a time frame.” But, at the same time, there was a determination in the government that if it failed to persuade Baba Ramdev through dialogue, it would have to consider tough action to make him abandon his hunger strike plans. With memories of social activist Anna Hazare's fast still raw, the government does not want to take any chances.

Indeed, on Thursday, the Baba Ramdev issue continued to engage the attention of both the government and the Congress: in the evening, the Congress core group, the party's apex decision-making body, of which both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are members, met to discuss ways of defusing the situation.

Immediately after that, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee convened a discussion on the issue with Cabinet colleagues A.K. Antony, Kapil Sibal, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Subodh Kant Sahay for what was described as a “review” of the situation. While Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Antony are also members of the Core Group, the other three — along with the Finance Minister — are members of the government's negotiating team on the Baba Ramdev issue.

Internally, the government is exasperated with the turn of events — especially as many of Baba Ramdev's demands are impossible to fulfil, nor are any of them possible to deliver on immediately. One point that is rankling is the fact that Baba Ramdev had sought permission from the government to hold a yoga camp for 20 days at Delhi's Ramlila Grounds from June 4 — now, as government sources said, he is “using” that venue “against the government” by making it the site of his threatened hunger strike.

Keywords: Baba Ramdev, anti-corruption, black money, money in foreign banks, hunger strike

The Hindu : News / National : What Baba Ramdev wants

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who has threatened to field candidates in every Lok Sabha constituency in 2014, has stopped the Union government in its tracks with a set of demands, ranging from the serious to the bizarre.

The demands of the jetsetting Baba — whose acolytes recently bought him a little Scottish island to open an ashram — include:

— Tough Lokpal Bill, with a provision for death sentence for the corrupt, especially corrupt officials

— Immediate return of all black money stashed away in tax havens abroad to the country

— Declaring all wealth in foreign countries being held illegally by Indians as national property and charging those with such accounts under the sedition laws

— Abolishing Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes

— Disabling the operations of any bank which belongs to a country that is a tax haven

— Replacing the British-inherited system of governance, administration, taxation, education, law and order with a swadeshi alternative

— Reforming the electoral system to ensure that the Prime Minister is directly elected by people

— Ensuring that all citizens declare annually their incomes

— Bringing income-tax details under the Right to Information Act

— Increasing substantially the Minimum Support Price of grains

— Making wages of different categories of labourers uniform across the country

— Revoking the Land Acquisition Act, as farmers should not be deprived of their land for industry

— Promoting Hindi at the expense of English.

Keywords: Baba Ramdev, black money

The Hindu : News / National : Ramdev supporters throng site of proposed hunger strike

It was a sea of saffron at the historic Ramlila Maidan here this morning as a large number of supporters of Baba Ramdev started pouring in from across the country carrying flags and festoons to join the yoga guru’s proposed indefinite hunger strike against corruption from Saturday.

A huge 2.5 lakh sq.ft tent has been erected here for the demonstrators while tight security arrangements are in place for preventing any untoward incident.

The Baba’s followers, including a large number of women, were seen entering the site carrying their luggage. The organisers have put up state-wise counters for registering the supporters who are being provided identity cards.

A battery of media persons are at the ground. Decorators were giving the finishing touches to the saffron-and-white pandals. It was saffron all around with flags and festoons aplenty and the bearded face of the Baba on every poster and banner put up at the site.

Some people were seen sleeping on the mattresses while some were taking bath in the open. More than 5,000 ceiling fans and coolers, 1,300 toilets and bathrooms have been installed at the site.

An 8 ft-long stage has been set up for the yoga guru from where he will instruct his followers. Large screens alongside the stage have also been installed.

The sitting area near the stage is being divided into three parts -- one for those who will sit for fast for a single day, one for those who will sit for the entire duration and one more for daily visitors.

Keywords: Baba Ramdev, hunger strike, corruption

The Hindu : News : Now, the spotlight is on Ramlila Grounds

Queuing up to get themselves registered for Ramdev's programme

All eyes were on Jantar Mantar when Anna Hazare brought the war against corruption to the capital. Now, the focus is on the Ramlila Grounds as Baba Ramdev takes his turn to fight the canker.

A day before the launch of Baba Ramdev's ‘satyagrah' on the issue of corruption and black money, Ramlila Maidan here was abuzz with hundreds of participants who have arrived here from different parts of the country to take part in the fast and pledge their support for the cause.

Unfazed by the heat and long train journeys, people were seen queuing up to get themselves registered. Those who had already registered settled on mattresses provided by the organisers at the tented camp. Separate places have been earmarked for men and women staying in the camp and water, electricity and toilet and bathing facilities have also been provided.

With the stage show of Baba Ramdev's supporters kicking off with speeches, performances and sloganeering, there was palpable excitement and energy in the air at the camp. Songs and slogans on themes of corruption and patriotism were being lapped up by the enthusiastic supporters.

Painter Alam, who travelled all the way from Gaya in Bihar to extend support to the ‘satyagrah,' proudly displayed his painting near the media enclosure portraying the theme of corruption. He spoke about his passion for the cause even as he added finishing strokes to his canvas.

“I had also come for Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign at Jantar Mantar. I have come again as corruption is a cause I feel strongly about. I will try to reflect the same through my art and generate awareness about it,” he added.

According to unofficial figures provided by volunteers at the registration desk, a total of 1,800 people have registered themselves for the fast till now and more are expected to join from Saturday onwards.

One such supporter Agnivesh said: “I have come from Kanpur to participate in the hunger strike. I have decided to stay only on lime water and join Baba Ramdev in his fast till the Central government relents and recovers the crores stashed away in Swiss banks.”

For 59-year-old Shakti Chopra and 70-year-old Pratibha Khosla, who travelled from Ferozepur in Punjab to the Ramlila Maidan to participate in the campaign, it was the cause of corruption that they identified with.

Ms. Khosla said: “While essential items like petrol, vegetables and cooking gas are getting more and more expensive by the day, it's the poor and the middle class which is suffering the most. While the poor are getting poorer, our corrupt politicians are becoming richer and richer by stashing away crores of black money abroad. We have come here to pledge our support for the cause so that we can leave behind something good for our next generation.”

Keywords: Ramlila Ground, Baba Ramdev fast, satyagrah, corruption issues

The Hindu : News / National : Ramdev begins indefinite fast against corruption

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev launched his indefinite fast against corruption and black money in New Delhi this morning after the government failed to persuade him to call off his protest.

The yoga guru began the protest along with thousands of his followers at the Ramlila Maidan here as he was joined by Swami Sadhvi Ritambara and other religious leaders from the Sikh, Jain and Muslim communities.

Before launching the fast, Baba Ramdev held a yoga and ’bhajan’ session during which he told the gathering that the protest was intended to save the country from corruption and ensure that the poor get a good life.

“Nothing is impossible, everything is possible and we are not going to be defeated,” the saffron-clad Baba seated on an elevated platform, told the gathering, referring to bringing back of black money stashed in tax havens abroad.

Baba Ramdev arrived at the stage at around 0450 hrs today to a huge round of applause from his followers.

Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay had held a marathon meeting yesterday with Baba Ramdev to persuade him to not go ahead with his indefinite fast. However, the talks failed to reach any breakthrough with the yoga guru insisting that all his demands be met with completely.

Alleges conspiracy against him

Baba Ramdev alleged there was a conspiracy against him to ensure that he does not go ahead with his protest fast but asserted that it had “failed”.

“I will certainly not talk about all issues today, there was a conspiracy but it has failed. What was the conspiracy, I will not say today. When the right time comes, I will say,” he said.

“What will India get from this protest? India will be saved now... People will get an opportunity for the first time that in all government professional colleges one can carry on the studies in his mother tongue,” he said.

Sadhvi Ritambara, who also addressed the gathering, lavished praises on him saying “if there were more Vallabhai Patels, then there was no need for a sanyasi to sit on satyagraha.”

Baba Ramdev was at his humorous best while addressing his followers. When a follower gave him a Rs 11-lakh cheque, the Baba joked, “Take the photos, this is not black money.”

A large number of security personnel, including women from Rapid Action Force, were deployed at the protest site to ensure no untoward incident takes place. A manual frisking is also being carried out at the entrance.

The crowd cheered Baba Ramdev whenever he spoke about bringing back black money, declaring it as a national asset and other issues of corruption. A number of RSS pracharaks in their uniforms were also seen at the site, keenly listening to the discourse.

Keywords: Baba Ramdev fast, India corruption, black money issue