Ramdev asks PM to act on black money

New Delhi  :  Yoga guru Baba Ramdev Friday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to act on getting back black money stashed abroad and demonstrate his “political honesty and will” as he addressed thousands of supporters at the Ramlila Maidan here on day two of his fast.

“Why is the prime minister not acting on the issue of black money? The government should reveal the names of those who have black money stashed abroad… Stop making excuses,” Ramdev asserted, to cheering by his supporters.

“The prime minister should demonstrate political honesty and will on black money,” he added.

Ramdev said the government should at least inform the people by when it would get the black money back.

“If black money is brought back to the country, the issue of price rise will be solved and high taxes will reduce… The Naxal and Maoist problem will also be solved,” he said, adding that every Indian pays around 30 different types of taxes.

“We will wait till Saturday and then announce our future course of action,” Ramdev said, reiterating his statement Thursday that he would give the government three days to act and then decide on the next course of action.

Ramdev had earlier said that if the Olympics gave a medal for corruption, India could have won a gold.

The crowds swelled as the day progressed on day two of the agitation.

Ramdev went to sleep around 10 p.m. Thursday on the stage itself and woke up at 4 a.m. After freshening up in a makeshift washroom behind the dais, he meditated for an hour, a close aide said.

The aide told IANS “no special arrangements” have been made for the yoga guru.

Ramdev began the day Friday with a yoga camp for his supporters, before addressing them.

He has demanded that the government get back black money stashed abroad, as well as sought a stringent Lokpal bill, an independent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a citizen’s charter. These are also the demands of the now disbanded Team Anna.

“If the CBI is made independent, politics will become clean, because CBI is being used to blackmail opposition leaders,” Ramdev said, echoing Team Anna leaders.

His three-day symbolic fast started Thursday.