Ramdev's 'political' agitation is backed by RSS, says Govt

The Government on Wednesday hit back at Ramdev saying that his was a "political agitation which is fully backed by the RSS and its front organisations" and made it clear that it would not "allow anything that will trigger a conflagration".

Home Minister P Chidambaram also disclosed that Government had decided in advance that if Ramdev goes on a fast-unto-death, he would be denied permission and told to move out of Delhi. That decision was not enforced earlier because the Government was engaged in a dialogue.

"Ultimately when the talks failed and he went back on his words, police was told to enforce the decision," he told Doordarshan in his first public comment on police action at Ramlila Maidan in the wee hours of Sunday after which Ramdev was sent out of Delhi. He said 39 people were injured.

Accusing the RSS and its front organisation of backing the yoga guru''s agitation, Chidambaram said "I think you should know who is behind Ramdev...On April 2, the RSS announced the formation of an anti-corruption front with Ramdev as its patron and K Govindacharya as its convenor.

"...on May 12, the ABVP, which is the student front organisation of RSS, floated a new organisation called the Youth Against Corruption and publically declared that it would coordinate with Ramdev."

The Home Minister said on May 28 VHP leader Ashok Singhal issued a similar circular and a number of people belonging to RSS and ABVP are "fully and closely working with Ramdev."

"So this is not an agitation by a yoga teacher or yoga guru, this is a political agitation which is fully backed by the RSS and its front organisations...we will allow peaceful protests but we will not allow anything that will trigger a conflagration," he said.

Rubbishing the comparison of the police action to the Jalianwala Bagh massacre, Chidambaram said, "that is a shameful comparison. One lady has been critically injured and I have already expressed my deep sense of sadness....we are reaching out to the family. To compare this with Jalianwala Bagh betrays colossal ignorance."