Ramdev Shows Why Anna Failed

While Anna Hazare and his disbanded team worked day and night to ensure that their fight against corruption could keep its sanctity intact, they failed miserably. And, one year since August 16 last year is not too short a period to write off Anna and his defunct team, given the fact that they are in tatters now. In my private discourse, I have been comparing Anna's movement/agitation with a rather completely contrasting in both degree and nature phenomenon of Revolt of 1857. Both proved great headache to the ruling dispensation at their very outset, but ultimately vanquished by the government's strategy. And, both prepared a mindset in the nation for a greater fight. The massive movements failed because they lacked organization and a clear strategy.

This strategy makes a clear distinction between Ramdev's movement and Anna's agitation. This explains why Anna and his erstwhile team failed to preserve the mass support and pouring that they got at the Ramlila Ground following the Independence Day celebrations last year. On his part, Ramdev has a better organization and a discreet but seemingly clear strategy to counter the government. Emotion can make people join a mass movement, but only an organization can keep them moving along the movement. This is where Ramdev is an improved Anna.

After last year's midnight swoop on sleeping protesters and supporters of Ramdev, who showed an utter cowardice while dealing with state action, the saffron leader looks wiser. He is drawing crowds, through his well established network throughout the country, close on the heels of a flop show by Team Anna. With latest act, Ramdev has somewhat salvage his lost pride. This may give some sleepless nights to the already weary UPA government, but if Ramdev supporters remain peaceful and do not misinterpret the yoga teacher's call for revolution, the anti-black money movement augurs well for India's democracy.

Rahul Gandhi And Uttar Pradesh

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi today held a very tactical press conference in Varanasi, hours ahead of the end of the election campaign for the first phase of polls in Uttar Pradesh, where stake is very high for the projected--but-disinterested future prime minister of India for Congress party. The press briefing was on expected lines with expected answers but with a renewed anger on display. This apart, today's press conference has four meanings, as I have perceived.

One, Rahul Gandhi has conceded defeat of his party in the upcoming polls just ahead of the first phase of voting. He categorically admitted that he is now focused on the 'course' and not on the result of the assembly elections. It is like accepting that his party stands no chance of forming a government in the state, as being predicted by all the poll pundits and much contrary to Congress's and his own tall claims of returning to power in Lucknow. Today's press conference may work in favour or may hamper his chances more than ever. It could be his last ditch to make an appeal to the voters that he is genuinely concerned about the progress of Uttar Pradesh, but his party can't muster majority in the present political scenario. Anyways, it's a defeat conceded by the commander of the Congress party.

Second, Rahul Gandhi seemed to be closing the doors of an alliance with either the BSP or the SP post-poll. He accused both these parties and also the BJP of providing 'criminal' governance in Uttar Pradesh in past two decades. Should his come to a pass of forging an alliance with either of the SP or BSP, he will have to eat his words, which Rahul Gandhi has not done till date. But, it also leaves Congress in a possible dilemma as to what it would do if BJP gets enough seat to tilt balance in anyone's favour. Will the Congress extend outside support to either the SP or the BSP, should it intends to keep the BJP at bay?

Third, Rahul Gandhi termed BJP a non-existing force in UP. For any political observer, it is too far fetched even to comment on the statement. But, Rahul Gandhi's soaring temper during the press conference while dealing with questions concerning the BJP was more than apparent. Was it an anger resulting due to frustration, that the BJP-led opposition handed over to the Congress in Parliament over the Lokpal Bill? He accused LK Advani of only touring in the name of corruption and not acting. He also challenged Advani and Co that he would get a constitutional Lokpal enacted by Parliament whether they like it or not. But, Rahul Gandhi is wise enough to understand that until his party gets a majority in UP, he can't have his way in the Rajya Sabha and thus the constitutional Lokpal may not be a reality. So, his renewed anger at the BJP, which is according Rahul Gandhi non-existent in UP, may have its source in the Lokpal fiasco.

And, fourth, Rahul Gandhi evaded the question on black money but focused on black flags to hit out at Baba Ramdev, who is obviously not a political force. Does Rahul's outburst at Ramdev signal a bigger trouble for the yog merchant? Only time will tell.

Emergency At Midnight

The Congress has been prone to autocratic means of governance. This has been the perennial allegation of the opposition. On Saturday night, the agenda setters of the Congress proved that the opponents of Congress' way of life are right on their money. Amidst high drama over the issue of black money and corruption, which saw a gandhian earlier and a yog guru now flexing muscle with the Congress-led government, the protagonists of emergency like rule cut loose on a Sanyasi's Satyagrah (however impractical or ill-timed it may be). Baba Ramdev and hundreds of his supporters and followers were treated with an iron hand when they expect it least to visit them. Some five thousand armed men of Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force unleashed mayhem on the people who had gathered at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi ostensibly to pressurize the government to act tough against all those who plunder or contribute in the plunder of national wealth in the form of black money, particularly that stashed in supposedly huge amount in the foreign banks. The armed men used lathis, tear shells, fire and bullets against people whose leaders asked them to remain peaceful till last and these policemen who obviously acted at the instruction of the Union Home Ministry did not serve any warning to the gathering of a huge mass. The Baba and his supporters were evicted from the Ramlila Ground at midnight as the home ministry decided to extern the yog guru who was, as per official denfence theory, purportedly inciting people against a democratically elected government at centre. Men and women were beaten black and blue without any distinction or discrimination. I guess this is the face of rule of law under emergency. This was emergency at midnight.

The official defence, as propounded by the parallel mouthpiece of the Congress party, Digvijay Singh says that Ramdev had become a threat to peace and harmony in Delhi, that he is a habitual cheater, that he has been a tax evader, that he harbours a political ambition, that he had a communal agenda during his so-called hunger strike in the national capital, that his claim for medical miracle is a farce, that he has preached absurd things in the name of reviving the techniques of yoga, that he used unethical means, as one pointed out two years ago by CPI-M leader Brinda Karat, that he has held captive his own master Baba Shankardev and is a threat to his life, that he is mumbug, who agreed to call off his hunger strike during talks with the representatives of the government and later told his followers a different version altogether, that he secured permission for a yog shivir at Ramlila Ground, which was later converted into the place of political agenda setting, that he was being managed by the RSS and the BJP, that his sinister programme at Ramlila Ground was totally sponsored, conspired and implemented by the saffron brigade with RSS and VHP being the fountainhead and that a thug like Ramdev got the treatment that he deserved for cheating, misleading and misguiding the entire nation. But, at this point of time, can the parallel mouthpiece of the ruling party answer a simple question? That, had he or his party or the government not known all the tenets of Ramdev's mischief as propounded by Digvijay Singh himself when four senior ministers of the union cabinet were sent to prostrate before the man who was evicted at midnight from the Ramlila Ground on Saturday? If the government or the party or Mr Digvijay Singh himself knew about the deeds of Ramdev, why the ruling dispensation laid before a half-naked man with a 'distorted intent'? Why till as late as on Saturday evening the union ministers held a press conference to say that the government had agreed to all the demands of Baba Ramdev? Did the government not cheat the very people who elected it, if the defence theory as propounded early Sunday morning and hinted at a couple of days before by Digvijay Singh? Can the government prostrate before a person who threatens to lead some one percent of population to an agitation against the government?

Now, suppose this. Suppose, Baba Ramdev had agreed to call off the fast-- when government wanted him to do so with all the secret deals in place that were made public on Saturday by Kapil Sibal, who left press briefing midway to get 'an instruction from someone higher up' only to return and hint at what unfolded later in the night-- would the parallel mouthpiece of the congress party held on to his views as he did? Simply put, did the government indulge in secret dealings with a man who was a cheater in all his forms? Can anyone by this defence of the congress or the government? I leave this question here itself.

But, what happened in New Delhi on Saturday night defies all the logic that governs a civil society like ours. Five thousand armed men run amok at a camp attended by peaceful demonstrators. Police set the dais on fire, damaged the tent and beat up people! My question is what the people were doing there? Did they demand an overthrow of the government like what happened in Egypt? Repression of this sort is not acceptable. Ramdev has a right to express his views and interact with people his wishes to. And, his supporters have the same right. The government, it seems, tried to make amends what the congress party afterthought was a mistake committed by sending four ministers to placate a sanyasi with impractical demands for this government. But, surely the method adopted by the government at the behest of the party gives a signal that a voice of discomfort will be silence by whatever means possible. This is an alarming situation.