Crackdown on Baba Ramdev is a shameful incident in Indian democracy: Jaitley

Lucknow, June 5(ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's anti-graft fast was 'a shameful chapter in the history of Indian democracy'.

Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Jaitley said it was a barbaric act by the police against citizens protesting peacefully against corruption and black money.

"It's a shameful chapter in the history of Indian democracy. Every person has the right to protest peacefully and people who were protesting peacefully were demanding action against corruption and black money. They were not saying anything against the unity of the country; they were not at all aggressive," Jaitley said.

Reacting on Congress leader Digvijay Singh's remarks on Baba Ramdev, Jaitley said this language is unacceptable in politics.

"The Congress General Secretary who used this language has been known both through his reasoning and idiom for lowering the level of political discourse in this country. As using words like 'thug' (fraud) and cheat for him (Baba Ramdev) is unacceptable in politics," Jaitley said.

At around 1 a.m., close to 600 policemen had arrived at Delhi's Ramlila ground to demand that Baba Ramdev and the crowd of 60,000 supporters must disperse. Their argument was that the gathering had been granted permission only for a yoga camp and not a mass demonstration.

The talks between the Central Government and Ramdev crashed last night with both sides citing betrayal.

The cabinet ministers, who were making all attempts to persuade Ramdev to give up his fast said that he had promised he would end his fast last evening. A letter was produced in this regard.

Ramdev, however, said the government was lying, and added that the letter had been conditional upon the government agreeing to his list of demands.

Ramdev had started his indefinite 'fast-unto-death' stir on Saturday to demand several radical reforms in the prevailing political system, including a death penalty for corrupt officials. (ANI)