After mishandling completely Baba Ramdev's hunger strike, the UPA government and the Congress party is branding the ongoing anti-corruption stir as the fight of people with communal agenda. Sheela Bhatt analyses where the deception lies.
Baba Ramdev on Saturday took a two-hour break from the protest, stating he had to discuss issues with government representatives on his demands for bringing back black money stashed away abroad and end corruption
Amidst speculation on whether he will go ahead with his hunger strike, Baba Ramdev cancelled a press conference scheduled on Thursday evening for a "serious dialogue" with the government.
Alleging that the Congress government at the Centre was cheating Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill issue, Baba Ramdev on Tuesday said that he would campaign against the parties opposing to bring back the black money stashed away in foreign banks.
A youth, who had allegedly created a fake Facebook account in the name of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, had been arrested, police said.
On the last day of his agitation on Tuesday, Ramdev got surprise support of erstwhile Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal who urged people to back the yoga guru in his protest but warned him against political parties "which are neck-deep in corruption".
The Supreme Court on Monday asked yoga guru Ramdev-run Bharat Swabhiman Trust to file its affidavit on the allegation that the Delhi police had "doctored and "tampered" with the CDs and video clippings relating to the July 4 midnight crackdown on the protest by Ramdev at the Ramlila maidan.
The Ramlila Maidan becomes a safe haven for eve-teasers and late night revelers, reports Toral Varia.
Rediff.com's Toral Varia, who has been covering Anna Hazare's fast at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, spoke to prominent civil society member Swami Agnivesh on the way ahead for the team Anna.
Anna Hazare on Tuesday stuck to his August 30 deadline for passage of Jan Lokpal Bill and asked his supporters to intensify the protest by gheraoing the houses of Parliamentarians if government failed to do so.
Anna Hazare on Sunday warned of "unprecedented revolution" in the country if Lokpal Bill is not passed by August 30 and said the government will have to "either get the bill passed or go."
Anna Hazare's fast demanding a strong Lokpal entered the fifth day on Saturday with his Team saying they were ready to talk to the government but no such communication channels have been opened.
Activist Swami Agnivesh on Friday launched an attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of being silent about crucial issues and not listening to the voices of the people. Addressing protestors as Anna Hazare launched his fast at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, he said, "Mr Manmohan Singh, the country wants you to end your silence and open your mouth. You have been silent for the past three years".
Here's how four dots -- a migrant seller of papads from Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, an first year BCom student from Punjab's Jalandhar, an BSc Honours student from Delhi's Hauz Khas and a student of commerce from Haryana's Gurgaon -- connect with each other in a neat circle outside the footpath that abuts Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
Anna Hazare and his supporters have given a two-page undertaking to the police on the activist's protest fast in Ramlila Maidan, saying they would abide by existing rules and regulations and the crowd will not exceed the capacity of the ground. In the undertaking signed by Anna Hazare himself and his associates -- Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan -- they also said that if any clause of it was violated, they would be liable to be prosecuted.
The Delhi police is understood to have sought two more days to take a decision on giving permission to social activist Anna Hazare to organise his indefinite fast against Lokpal Bill in New Delhi even as his team has secured a no-objection certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to hold the protest at Ramlila Maidan.
Union Home Ministry and Delhi government have not submitted their report to the National Human Rights Commission on the police action against Ramdev's supporters at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, prompting the rights body to issue a fresh notice to them.
Twenty days after he was bundled out of Delhi, yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday came back to the national capital to visit a woman follower who was seriously injured in the crackdown during his protest against corruption.
Delhi Police on Friday justified in the Supreme Court its midnight crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters protesting against corruption and black money at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, saying permission had been given only to hold a yoga camp.
Rajeev Srinivasan on the cavalier nature of the Indian State's actions against its own citizens
Anna Hazare and his supporters, on Wednesday evening, ended their day-long fast to protest the police crackdown against yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Hazare ended the fast at 6 pm.
The National Commission for Women on Monday said it has sought a report from the Delhi Police on the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev's supporters at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
Activist Anna Hazare has decided to join Baba Ramdev in the latter's indefinite fast against corruption. Baba Ramdev is scheduled to hold an indefinite fast at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi from June 4 to demand repatriation of the black money stashed in foreign banks. His supporters will also join him in the fast in 624 districts across the country to demand stricter steps to deal with corruption.Hazare has announced his decision to join the fast from June 5.
Kejriwal will take oath as chief minister for a third term in a "Delhi-specific" ceremony, AAP's Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai said.
Threatening to launch a "big protest" for a strong Lokpal bill, social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said that the government will have to go if it does not bring a strong anti-corruption law.
The exercise will continue till 6 pm in all the polling stations except those in Maoist-affected areas of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts where it ended at 3 pm, an official said.
Kanimozhi and Kalmadi were welcomed as if they were freedom fighters emerging from jail. Getting bail does not mean that the cases against them have come to an end, or that they have been found innocent by the trial courts, says T V R Shenoy.
For many in India, the post-midnight swoop on hundreds of anti-Wall Street protestors camping at the Zuccotti park area of New York since the past two months brought back memories of the manner in which the Delhi Police evicted Baba Ramdev from Ramlila Maidan.
Bharatiya Janta Party President Nitin Gadkari on Friday claimed that the Congress would have dealt with Anna Hazare's fast at Ramlila Maidan the same way it dealt with Baba Ramdev's fast, had the main opposition party not declared support to Hazare.
Noted social activist Swami Agnivesh has said that there is no need to show any leniency to Team Anna members Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi if they are found guilty of violating the law of the land.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde asked Attorney General K K Venugopal if the government can assure the court that it will not take any executive action on implementation of the law till the court hears the matter.
If what is said about them is only a perception, then lawmakers ought to bother about it and correct it by deeds, writes Mahesh Vijapurkar
Bedi said her action on Friday speaking from a stage at Ramlila Maidan went against her "grain" but asserted she did not mean to hurt anybody. "It went against my grain. It is not in my training but it was worth it...I did not mean to hurt anybody," she said.
Eight-year-old Ikrah and five-year-old Simran took centrestage at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday when they gave a glass of tender coconut water to Anna Hazare for ending his fast on the Lokpal issue after 12 days.
After securing Parliament's nod on key elements of Jan Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Sunday ended his 12-day-old fast declaring that electoral reforms will be next on his agenda.
Gandhian Anna Hazare, who had meditated at Rajghat before launching his fast on August 16, will not visit Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi after ending his hunger strike because of health reasons.
"I am not the biggest hero, Anna (Hazare) is the real hero," said superstar Aamir Khan on Saturday as he pledged support to the activist's fight for a strong anti-corruption law.
As Anna Hazare's fast spilled over to the 12th day, doctors on Saturday raised concerns over his health saying they are more worried as the Gandhian's blood pressure has dipped while heart beat has increased.
Though officially the Delhi Police maintained that the move was to 'ensure the safety of Hazare and his supporters', rediff.com has learnt that the law enforcement agency fears a law and order situation that may arise if and when Hazare is shifted to the hospital
Amidst the sloganeering and singing by protestors at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, a visibly frail Anna Hazare made a brief appearance on the stage. "The team of doctors is worried about my health, especially my kidney problem. I will introspect and then take a call at 10 pm tonight," said Anna Hazare.
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