Baba Ramdev taken into preventive custody
NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday courted arrest after he was stopped by Delhi Police from marching towards Parliament as part of his intensified protest against corruption and bringing back black money stashed away on foreign shores.
Ramdev courted arrest along with thousands of his supporters near the Ranjit Singh flyover, just a few metres away from the Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, the venue of his fast protest since Thursday.
"Delhi Police is a puppet in the hands of the Central government. We will not do anything that disrupts peace. We wanted to march towards Parliament in a peaceful manner to make our voices heard," he told his supporters before courting arrest.
"Our intention is not to disrupt peace. We will cooperate with the police and go according to the law. We have respect to the law of the land," he said before getting into a Delhi Transport Corporation bus which Delhi Police had brought to take him.
He is being taken to Bawana on the outskirts of Delhi. Holding the national tricolour, Ramdev hopped into a open vehicle from outside the Maidan in central Delhi and began his march at 1:15pm. He was soon joined by thousands of his supporters.
"Let us start the march to Parliament. Our march is not to gherao Parliament. But to agitate. None of our volunteers should indulge in violence," he told his supporters before beginning his march.
Ten minutes into the march, the cavalcade was stopped by Delhi Police near the flyover, saying that they do not have permission to march.
Heavy police presence could be seen outside Ramlila Maidan and Ranjit Singh Flyover, the route of the protest march.
Ramdev announced on Monday morning that he and his supporters would march towards Parliament and hold an agitation outside the complex.
"The government has become completely deaf. We have to make them hear us. Now our protest will be outside Parliament. We are not talking about gherao," Ramdev said while addressing his supporters in the morning.
"Lok Sabha polls will be in 2014 and 99 per cent could be in 2013. This protest is to ensure that no dishonest person enters Parliament. Such people should be boycotted. We do not have a political agenda," he said.
Earlier, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav shared the dais with Ramdev, who attacked Congress and asked people to throw out the UPA government accusing it of not acting against corruption and black money.
The NDA leaders appeared on the stage and sat with Ramdev and his supporters. TDP leader Nama Nageshwara Rao, BJP MP Vijay Goel and Akali Dal representatives also shared the stage with Ramdev.
The presence of NDA leaders assume significance in the wake of Ramdev taking a vow to oust the Congress in the 2014 elections.
Gadkari pledged his party's "full support" to the yoga guru's agitation against black money and launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led UPA Government on issues like corruption and black money.
In his address, Gadkari told Ramdev that the BJP would stand "fully behind him" in his agitation demanding bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks and that the party was raising the issue in Parliament.
"There is no political agenda to this agitation. This agitation should not be seen from political prism. This is an agitation of the people of the country and not of one single party. Black money should be brought back to the country and spent on the country's development," he said.
Talk to Tatas on Singur, Congress tells Mamata
Singur: It may be akin to a political cuss word in Trinamool Congress regime. But given the relationship between the bickering alliance partners,
Singur: The state Congress is planning to hold a rally in Singur on August 26, urging the Mamata Banerjee-government to negotiate with the Tatas for an out-of-the-court settlement to the ongoing land impasse.
And theirs is not the sole voice. A small but significant section of the broad coalition of parties, Mamata Banerjee had formed during the Singur agitation culminating in her 26-day fast, has also suggested the same. The Bengal CM, till now, isn't keen on it, though it didn't stop her from meeting Shapoorji Pallonji Group MD Shapoor Mistry, the single-largest shareholder ofTata Sons, for fresh investment opportunities in the state recently.
State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said: "The court process will go on. But if the intent is to give relief to the farmers, what's stopping the government from speaking to all stakeholders, including the Tatas?" Bhattacharya doesn't stop at this. He added that the government should stop demarcating between willing and unwilling farmers. "The latter's demands are justified, but while stressing on their voice aren't we overlooking those who had willingly given their land? Even they are in distress."
Murshidabad MP Adhir Chowdhury, expected to take part in the meeting, said: "If the CPM had committed a mistake (by acquiring land forcibly), it doesn't mean that it will be repeated in another form. Are industrialists untouchables? You speak to them to form your industrial policy and invite them to invest in Bengal. Then why not talk to the Tatas to find an solution to the ongoing stalemate? There is nothing like speaking to the stakeholders directly. The intent has to be very clear."
In a meeting at Town Hall on June 24 with her Singur allies to take stock of the political fallout of Calcutta high court verdict on Singur two days before, the chief minister was advised by PDS leader Samir Putatunda to go for at an out-of-the-court settlement with the Tatas to return land to the unwilling farmers. Mamata wasn't keen on it. The Calcutta high court held the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void. A division bench of the high court had given the verdict on Tata Motors' appeal against a single judge order that had upheld the act. The state has appealed against this order in the Supreme Court.
But speaking to the Tatas is only a part of the ongoing imbroglio. problem which Congress is harping on.
The other is the darkness over the real beneficiaries for the government dole of rice at Rs two-per-kilogram and a Rs-2000 per month stipend.
Congress spokesperson Abdul Manan said: "For months, we've been urging the Hooghly district magistrate to publish a list of beneficiaries. It hasn't been done yet. We suspect not all the real beneficiaries are gaining from this." All these after Congress followed Trinamool Congress's footsteps in going alone in Bengal panchayat poll.Now intends to hold a public rally in Singur on August 26 demanding that the Mamata Banerjee-led government negotiates with Tatas for an out-of-court settlement of the Singur impasse.
Ramdev courted arrest along with thousands of his supporters near the Ranjit Singh flyover, just a few metres away from the Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, the venue of his fast protest since Thursday.
"Delhi Police is a puppet in the hands of the Central government. We will not do anything that disrupts peace. We wanted to march towards Parliament in a peaceful manner to make our voices heard," he told his supporters before courting arrest.
"Our intention is not to disrupt peace. We will cooperate with the police and go according to the law. We have respect to the law of the land," he said before getting into a Delhi Transport Corporation bus which Delhi Police had brought to take him.
He is being taken to Bawana on the outskirts of Delhi. Holding the national tricolour, Ramdev hopped into a open vehicle from outside the Maidan in central Delhi and began his march at 1:15pm. He was soon joined by thousands of his supporters.
"Let us start the march to Parliament. Our march is not to gherao Parliament. But to agitate. None of our volunteers should indulge in violence," he told his supporters before beginning his march.
Ten minutes into the march, the cavalcade was stopped by Delhi Police near the flyover, saying that they do not have permission to march.
Heavy police presence could be seen outside Ramlila Maidan and Ranjit Singh Flyover, the route of the protest march.
Ramdev announced on Monday morning that he and his supporters would march towards Parliament and hold an agitation outside the complex.
"The government has become completely deaf. We have to make them hear us. Now our protest will be outside Parliament. We are not talking about gherao," Ramdev said while addressing his supporters in the morning.
"Lok Sabha polls will be in 2014 and 99 per cent could be in 2013. This protest is to ensure that no dishonest person enters Parliament. Such people should be boycotted. We do not have a political agenda," he said.
Earlier, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav shared the dais with Ramdev, who attacked Congress and asked people to throw out the UPA government accusing it of not acting against corruption and black money.
The NDA leaders appeared on the stage and sat with Ramdev and his supporters. TDP leader Nama Nageshwara Rao, BJP MP Vijay Goel and Akali Dal representatives also shared the stage with Ramdev.
The presence of NDA leaders assume significance in the wake of Ramdev taking a vow to oust the Congress in the 2014 elections.
Gadkari pledged his party's "full support" to the yoga guru's agitation against black money and launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led UPA Government on issues like corruption and black money.
In his address, Gadkari told Ramdev that the BJP would stand "fully behind him" in his agitation demanding bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks and that the party was raising the issue in Parliament.
"There is no political agenda to this agitation. This agitation should not be seen from political prism. This is an agitation of the people of the country and not of one single party. Black money should be brought back to the country and spent on the country's development," he said.
Singur: The state Congress is planning to hold a rally in Singur on August 26, urging the Mamata Banerjee-government to negotiate with the Tatas for an out-of-the-court settlement to the ongoing land impasse.
And theirs is not the sole voice. A small but significant section of the broad coalition of parties, Mamata Banerjee had formed during the Singur agitation culminating in her 26-day fast, has also suggested the same. The Bengal CM, till now, isn't keen on it, though it didn't stop her from meeting Shapoorji Pallonji Group MD Shapoor Mistry, the single-largest shareholder ofTata Sons, for fresh investment opportunities in the state recently.
State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said: "The court process will go on. But if the intent is to give relief to the farmers, what's stopping the government from speaking to all stakeholders, including the Tatas?" Bhattacharya doesn't stop at this. He added that the government should stop demarcating between willing and unwilling farmers. "The latter's demands are justified, but while stressing on their voice aren't we overlooking those who had willingly given their land? Even they are in distress."
Murshidabad MP Adhir Chowdhury, expected to take part in the meeting, said: "If the CPM had committed a mistake (by acquiring land forcibly), it doesn't mean that it will be repeated in another form. Are industrialists untouchables? You speak to them to form your industrial policy and invite them to invest in Bengal. Then why not talk to the Tatas to find an solution to the ongoing stalemate? There is nothing like speaking to the stakeholders directly. The intent has to be very clear."
In a meeting at Town Hall on June 24 with her Singur allies to take stock of the political fallout of Calcutta high court verdict on Singur two days before, the chief minister was advised by PDS leader Samir Putatunda to go for at an out-of-the-court settlement with the Tatas to return land to the unwilling farmers. Mamata wasn't keen on it. The Calcutta high court held the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void. A division bench of the high court had given the verdict on Tata Motors' appeal against a single judge order that had upheld the act. The state has appealed against this order in the Supreme Court.
But speaking to the Tatas is only a part of the ongoing imbroglio. problem which Congress is harping on.
The other is the darkness over the real beneficiaries for the government dole of rice at Rs two-per-kilogram and a Rs-2000 per month stipend.
Congress spokesperson Abdul Manan said: "For months, we've been urging the Hooghly district magistrate to publish a list of beneficiaries. It hasn't been done yet. We suspect not all the real beneficiaries are gaining from this." All these after Congress followed Trinamool Congress's footsteps in going alone in Bengal panchayat poll.Now intends to hold a public rally in Singur on August 26 demanding that the Mamata Banerjee-led government negotiates with Tatas for an out-of-court settlement of the Singur impasse.
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