Baba Ramdev promises to agitate again in Delhi

Buoyed by the Supreme Court’s censure of the government for arbitrarily and forcefully ending his Ramlila Ground protest last year, yoga guru Baba Ramdev vowed Thursday to launch more such protests.

“Till the time black money from abroad is not brought back and declared as national asset our agitation will continue. I will soon return to Delhi for another agitation,” Ramdev said.

He was speaking to reporters after the Supreme Court slammed Delhi Police for acting in an arbitrary manner and using excessive force in evicting Ramdev and his followers from the Ramlila ground in June last year.

The Supreme Court said what happened at the sprawling ground on the night of June 4-5, leading to the death of a woman, was the fault of Delhi Police as it acted in an arbitrary manner and used excessive force. It also pulled up the yoga guru for not cooperating with police.

But Ramdev said: “The government had misused its powers, undermined the constitution and law and violated human rights by forcefully evicting people who were protesting peacefully and charging them with lathis (batons).”

Blaming the home ministry for the midnight crackdown, Ramdev said that senior officials of the Delhi Police were in regular touch with the ministry and received the orders for the eviction.

“The police received orders from above… At least three to five times I asked the police to arrest me and stop hitting people with batons but they did not listen,” said Ramdev.

“I urged my followers to keep peace and not retaliate even if they were being hit by policemen.”