Saffron support for Ramdev

The Parivar, it seems, is rallying around Ramdev. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Ashok Singhal visited the fasting yoga guru in Haridwar on Wednesday.

The Parivar, it seems, is rallying around Ramdev. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Ashok Singhal visited the fasting yoga guru in Haridwar on Wednesday.

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“I don't have objections to sharing dais with Baba but he has to invite me since it is his platform,” Swaraj told mediapersons after the meeting. She was concerned about Ramdev health and “therefore I am here”.

Asked if she would mediate between Ramdev and the Centre, the BJP leader said, “Until Baba and his core group agree, how can I mediate between the government and Baba?”

The yoga guru has continued his anti-corruption fast in Haridwar after being forced out of Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on June 5.

Swaraj criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for not visiting those injured in the police action against Ramdev and his supporters.

The VHP leader too slammed the police swoop, likening it to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.
“Black money must be brought (back) for our own betterment. There has to be a strict anti-corruption law,” said Singhal.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, a vocal critic of Ramdev, said the visits were a proof that Ramdev was a “mask” for the RSS-BJP. Swaraj rubbished the charge, saying the Congress was in the habit of linking everything to the Sangh.
Swaraj visited Haridwar as the Leader of the Opposition as the PM had remained insensitive to the plight of protesters, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan questioned Swaraj's visit on the day Ramdev talked about raising an 11,000-strong armed youth force.

“Is it correct for the Leader of Opposition to meet Ramdev in Hardiwar when he has called for a war against the government? It is for the BJP to answer whether they are supporting (the plan)…”