Jethmalani calls Rahul corrupt at Ramdev’s fast
15 Aug 2012 7:05 AM IST
The yoga guru Ramdev ended his fast against illegal money and corruption on Tuesday. After giving sleepless night to the police and security agencies, he announced on Tuesday that there would be no agitation till 2014 when the Lok Sabha election. He asked his supporters not to vote for Congress in the 2014 election and said that he would tell them at the right time who to vote for instead.
While leaving the Ambedkar Stadium for Haridwar, he criticised the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He accused the prime minister of shielding the corrupt and asked people not to vote for the Congress in the 2014 general election. Taking a tough stand on the Congress, he said, 'We have decided not to vote for the Congress. The party has made us poor. You have to tell people that it is the Congress which has pushed you to poverty and is responsible for price rise.'
Earlier, the noted criminal lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani came to the stadium to support Ramdev's movement. He targeted the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. He said that Gandhi was amongst those who had illegal money kept abroad. 'Rahul Gandhi's name is there in the list of those whose money is stashed abroad. The Congress party wants to hide the name of its leaders in the list,' said Jethmalani from the dais.
Earlier, the additional commissioner of police [central district] Devesh Chandra Srivastava requested Ramdev and his supporters to vacate the stadium due to the security reasons ahead of the Independence Day functions on 15 August.
Ramdev then announced the end of the fast by taking sweet lime water from two siblings of a Dalit family hailing from the Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
MY FIRST NIGHT OUT WITH BABA RAMDEV
Alok Singh
Drama was what I expected, when I went to the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday evening, to spend the night with Ramdev and his supporters. It had been an action packed day, with Ramdev's arrest while leading a march to Parliament and his supporters blocking the road and bringing the speed of the bus conveying Ramdev to a crawl, as the yoga guru was taken from Ranjit Singh flyover where he had been arrested to the Ambedkar Stadium nearby. When later Ramdev refused to leave the stadium even after being released, I expected more action. There was at the back of my mind the memory of a night in June 2011, when the police had swooped down on Ramdev and his men in the middle of the night and the leader had staged an escape disguised in a salwar kameez. Monday night was however, to put it mildly, peaceful. It was as if, Ramdev realised that he had already scored a point with the exhibition of his popularity earlier in the day, and wished to maintain a low profile.
There was however, a palpable fear in the air at Ambedkar Stadium. An apprehension of a possible police crackdown. Senior police officers had requested Ramdev to leave the stadium at least five times after his release. But he refused. As seven companies of Delhi police remained on guard outside the stadium where Ramdev was spending the night with at least 3000 supporters, the yoga guru's supporters kept watch inside. There was an unlimited supply of poori sabzi, cooked at Ramlial Maidan half a kilometer away from Ambedkar Stadium for those camping with Ramdev. Trained volunteers ensured proper distribution of food and security arrangement at the place. And Ramdev ensured that his followers get ample rest after the exertion of the action-packed day. A little before midnight Ramdev asked his supporter to maintain 'maun' (silence) at the stadium from midnight and to sleep till six in the morning. Ramdev's word is law for his supporters, and soon people had started going to sleep on the stadium ground and the stands.
It had been a long day for me too. Following Ramdev from Ramlila Maidan in the morning to the Ambedkar stadium after his arrest. But I was restless. So were some of his supporters. 'Let the police come. We can handle them. We are ready to face anything for the success of our movement,' said 34 year old Surender Sangwan. Raj Bala was at Ambedkar Stadium to keep alive her mother-in-law's faith in Ramdev's agitation. Her mother-in-law, Rakesh Malik had suffered spine injuries during the police crackdown on Ramdev's fast last year and had later died. 'My mother-in-law died for the country. She fought the police bravely and died while facing police's brutalities towards the protestors. We do not fear the police,' she said.
The morning however saw a tame end to Ramdev's flamboyant words of the day before.
While leaving the Ambedkar Stadium for Haridwar, he criticised the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He accused the prime minister of shielding the corrupt and asked people not to vote for the Congress in the 2014 general election. Taking a tough stand on the Congress, he said, 'We have decided not to vote for the Congress. The party has made us poor. You have to tell people that it is the Congress which has pushed you to poverty and is responsible for price rise.'
Earlier, the noted criminal lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani came to the stadium to support Ramdev's movement. He targeted the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. He said that Gandhi was amongst those who had illegal money kept abroad. 'Rahul Gandhi's name is there in the list of those whose money is stashed abroad. The Congress party wants to hide the name of its leaders in the list,' said Jethmalani from the dais.
Earlier, the additional commissioner of police [central district] Devesh Chandra Srivastava requested Ramdev and his supporters to vacate the stadium due to the security reasons ahead of the Independence Day functions on 15 August.
Ramdev then announced the end of the fast by taking sweet lime water from two siblings of a Dalit family hailing from the Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
MY FIRST NIGHT OUT WITH BABA RAMDEV
Alok Singh
Drama was what I expected, when I went to the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday evening, to spend the night with Ramdev and his supporters. It had been an action packed day, with Ramdev's arrest while leading a march to Parliament and his supporters blocking the road and bringing the speed of the bus conveying Ramdev to a crawl, as the yoga guru was taken from Ranjit Singh flyover where he had been arrested to the Ambedkar Stadium nearby. When later Ramdev refused to leave the stadium even after being released, I expected more action. There was at the back of my mind the memory of a night in June 2011, when the police had swooped down on Ramdev and his men in the middle of the night and the leader had staged an escape disguised in a salwar kameez. Monday night was however, to put it mildly, peaceful. It was as if, Ramdev realised that he had already scored a point with the exhibition of his popularity earlier in the day, and wished to maintain a low profile.
There was however, a palpable fear in the air at Ambedkar Stadium. An apprehension of a possible police crackdown. Senior police officers had requested Ramdev to leave the stadium at least five times after his release. But he refused. As seven companies of Delhi police remained on guard outside the stadium where Ramdev was spending the night with at least 3000 supporters, the yoga guru's supporters kept watch inside. There was an unlimited supply of poori sabzi, cooked at Ramlial Maidan half a kilometer away from Ambedkar Stadium for those camping with Ramdev. Trained volunteers ensured proper distribution of food and security arrangement at the place. And Ramdev ensured that his followers get ample rest after the exertion of the action-packed day. A little before midnight Ramdev asked his supporter to maintain 'maun' (silence) at the stadium from midnight and to sleep till six in the morning. Ramdev's word is law for his supporters, and soon people had started going to sleep on the stadium ground and the stands.
It had been a long day for me too. Following Ramdev from Ramlila Maidan in the morning to the Ambedkar stadium after his arrest. But I was restless. So were some of his supporters. 'Let the police come. We can handle them. We are ready to face anything for the success of our movement,' said 34 year old Surender Sangwan. Raj Bala was at Ambedkar Stadium to keep alive her mother-in-law's faith in Ramdev's agitation. Her mother-in-law, Rakesh Malik had suffered spine injuries during the police crackdown on Ramdev's fast last year and had later died. 'My mother-in-law died for the country. She fought the police bravely and died while facing police's brutalities towards the protestors. We do not fear the police,' she said.
The morning however saw a tame end to Ramdev's flamboyant words of the day before.
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