Crackdown on Baba Ramdev naked fascism: LK Advani

CHENNAI : Describing the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his followers as ‘naked fascism’, senior BJP leader LK Advani today demanded an apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for the incident.

Likening the situation to the Emergency era of 1975, Advani said President Prathibha Patil should not remain a ‘passive observer’ to the developments and demanded that she convene an ’emergency session’ of Parliament to discuss the issue besides black money and corruption.

“I did not anticipate this kind of action (against Ramdev). Not only was he arrested but women and children (who were participating in the fast) were beaten up which reminds me of the Jallianwala Bagh incident in Punjab (during the British rule).”

“The prime minister and Congress president owe an apology not only to Ramdev but the people of India,” he said.

Advani recalled that it was in 1975 when a “desperate government” (under late Indira Gandhi) had clamped Emergency which was an “assault on te media and one which undermined the constitution.”

He said the then “desperate government,” instead of responding to the “right demands and suggestions of people,” chose to impose emergency in which many opposition leaders including himself were arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).

Advani recalled that Ramdev had not only supported him when he first raised the black money issue two years back but had also talked about it in his yoga sessions.

In response a question, Advani said the government would have to face the opposition in Parliament in the Monsoon session if BJP’s demand for an emergency session was not met with.

Asked about the allegations that BJP and RSS were behind Ramdev, he said ‘this is a constant refrain’.

“But for Jan Sangh (BJP’s parent organisation) and Sangh Parivar, Emergency would not have ended… A Congress spokesperson is abusing Ramdev left and right…This kind of allergy to supporters of probity is not the right approach,” he said.

Taking on the ruling Congress on corruption issues, he said if the government claimed that corrupt were being made to face action, it was only on the direction of the Supreme Court.

Advani recalled how BJP was adamant on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on issues of 2G spectrum allocation, Commonwealth Games and Adarsh Housing scam.

“The prime minister and finance minister and all defended them (the accused),” he said.

On the Jan Lokpal issue, the BJP leader said he had asked his partymen to support it, but said corruption was brewing in the country due to lack of political will.

“There is corruption in the country not because of lack of laws, but lack of political will to punish corrupt if they belong to my (apparently ruling) party,” he said.

Advani also charged the Centre with launching an a ‘assault on federalism,’ claiming that states which were not in favour of the Centre were being targeted.

On corruption charges against ruling BJP in Karnataka, especially in relation to the mining sector, Advani said he ‘is not happy with what is happening there.’

‘I have told him personally also,’ he said in an apparent reference to chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, whose government has time and again been facing charges of corruption.

Advani, who was in Chennai for a wedding, however insisted that other NDA ruled states, including Bihar, Gujarat and Chattisgarh among others were performing well.

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