After an all out tongue lashing by the Congress party, the government has hardened its position vis-à-vis yoga guru Baba Ramdev with the government deciding to reject most of his demands except the ones over black money which are under discussion.
The government has continued to engage Baba Ramdev in discussion and efforts are on to peacefully settle the issue in the hope that he will 'see sense' and call off his indefinite fast scheduled to begin on June 4.
A top leader in the government said that if that does not happen, the government would ensure that he does not sit on a hunger strike at Delhi's Ramlila Ground, but would have to shift the venue to Jantar Mantar.
A month ago, Ramdev asked the authorities for permission to hold a yoga camp at Ramlila Grounds where huge and elaborate arrangements have been made to host a large number of people and a great deal of money has been spent on the waterproof tent as well as for other facilities.
Since Baba Ramdev never asked for the venue to be used for hunger strike, the government has made it clear to him that he can hold a peaceful satyagraha there, but on no condition would he be allowed to hold a fast there.
For that he would have to shift to Jantar Mantar like social activist Anna Hazare, but this time around the government is a little better prepared and will not be taken off guard.
With senior Congress leaders making it clear that the party was not kept in the loop over the decision to send four senior ministers to the New Delhi airport to hold discussions with Baba Ramdev sending a message that the government was scared and running for cover, Congress president Sonia Gandhi called a meeting of the core committee where the party leadership pulled no punches in letting the government know that the decision to go into overdrive over Ramdev had not gone down well with the party.
The core committee decided to keep Ramdev engaged in discussions, but sources said it would be on the government's terms and conditions.
It was made clear to Ramdev that the government was already working on the issue of black money and would welcome co-operation from all sides. But the government has rejected Baba's demand of pulling out Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes from the market, saying it could not be done overnight nor was it a solution to end corruption.
After the meeting of the core committee, the four Union ministers met to discuss the issue again in the wake of the mood within the party.
Sources said that Sonia Gandhi made the feelings of the party quite clear to them and it was felt that some of the ministers had overstepped the brief, making both the Congress and the government into a laughing stock as the message had gone that the entire government has prostrated itself over one Baba.
A senior Congress functionary said that the party is watching with great interest at the capability of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's team to deal with crisis and whether they would be able to handle the issue with some degree of credibility.
During the Anna Hazare episode the criticism against the government was that for over four days none in the government moved to control the situation as it slowly got out of hand, leading to the government capitulating before Team Anna.
And now with Baba Ramdev the criticism is that the government bent over backwards to engage the Baba in dialogue with four senior ministers going to the airport to cajole him along with a battalion of senior officers including the cabinet secretary, but returning empty handed as he refused to budge from his stand.
Fingers are being pointed at the inability of Prime Minister Singh to deliver on crisis points and to take a balanced approach in resolving critical areas which need a strong focus. Questions are being raised on whether Manmohan Singh has in his team any person who can handle crisis on the ground -- whether it is the Telangana issue, the Naxalite menace, Anna Hazare or Ramdev or even the issue of corruption.
While both the party and the government are at pains to point out that they are on the same page as civil society and the people at large over issues of corruption, the feeling has grown that the government has been unable to find a credible route by which to silence its detractors, hence the credibility of the government has taken a beating, once again.
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