Baba Ramdev’s second round of indefinite protest to begin today
New Delhi: Fourteen months after he was bundled out of Ramlila Maidan in a midnight police swoop, yoga guru Baba Ramdev will return to the same venue today for another round of an indefinite protest in his demand of bringing back the black money stashed abroad.
Baba Ramdev’s previous protest in Ramlila Maidan in June last year ended in a midnight police crackdown with authorities claiming that he violated the norms agreed upon. He was caught by police while trying to flee from the venue in woman’s attire.
The second round of protest will witness an expansion of Baba Ramdev’s agenda. Along with bringing back black money, Baba Ramdev will also demand for the anti-graft legislation – the Lokpal Bill, which till now was championed by Anna Hazare and his aides, a team, which was recently dissolved by 75-year-old Anna.
Baba Ramdev has said that he has no political agenda and the second phase of his protest will be announced if the government does not agree to his demands.
“All we are demanding is constitution of a strong Lokpal to end corruption. Lokpal alone cannot eradicate corruption but it is required to punish the corrupt,” Baba Ramdev said.
Anna, who had earlier announced that he would join Baba Ramdev at his protest, is unlikely to be present at the venue today with one of his close aides saying that “as of now there are no plans” to come to Delhi; the yoga guru had claimed that Anna has publicly said that he will come.
There have been reports of tension between sections of the erstwhile Team Anna and Baba Ramdev. On June 3, Baba Ramdev and Anna had held a protest in Delhi.
