Baba Ramdev spams govt in fight to out black money

Fifty big packets – weighing several kilos each – for the North Block. With love from Baba Ramdev.

Fifty big packets – weighing several kilos each – for the North Block. With love from Baba Ramdev.

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The latest target of the much-televised yoga guru who has a cult following among thousands of disciples is the government as he gets ready for what many say is a political career, and his chosen mission – diverting black money to eradicate poverty, has resulted in an unusual pile of papers for income-tax officials.

The guru, who has launched an organisation called Bharat Swabhimaan, merely exercising his right as a citizen, has sent memoranda against black money to the president and the prime minister bearing signatures of nearly three million people from across the country.

In true bureaucratic style, the humungous volumes of papers landed at the offices of the Central Board of Direct Taxes a few days ago.

"With the signatures of Indian citizens, I have sent two memoranda to the president and the prime minister appealing them to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities and uproot corruption," Baba Ramdev told HT.

The I-T department is at a loss as to how to store the enormous load in the North Block. "We've sent them to I-T Intelligence Wing to make some sense out of it and take the required step," said a senior CBDT officer.

Ramdev is petitioning the government to recover Indian money illegally parked in tax havens abroad.