Sushma Swaraj visits Ramdev, supports stir plan

Haridwar, June 8 (ANI): Asserting that the government has forgotten its duties, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said yoga guru Baba Ramdev is working on a stir plan and his agitation is for the entire nation.

"I have come here as the leader of opposition. The government has forgotten its duties. I have no objective in sharing stage with Ramdev. The nation is concerned about Ramdev's health. Baba is working on a stir plan and his agitation is for the country," she said after meeting Ramdev at his Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar.

Swaraj also criticized the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, for his comments on the government crackdown on Ramdev and thousands of his supporters at Delhi's Ramlila ground late on Saturday night.

"I am surprised with the comments made by the Prime Minister. The government has violated human rights. Why Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi did not meet the injured in Ramlila operation. The government claimed no one was injured in Ramlila operation. The government has lost the sense of balance," she added.

The Prime Minister had on Monday defended the police action on Baba Ramdev, saying there was no alternative.

"There was no alternative to crackdown at Ramlila grounds. It was unfortunate. We are very honest, we conducted things very honestly. We are serious about fighting corruption, but there is no magic wand," said Dr. Manmohan Singh.

A BJP delegation led by Lal Krishna Advani met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday and demanded the convening of a special session of Parliament to discuss the crisis that has arisen from the confrontation between the government on one hand and civil society activists including Baba Ramdev on the other.

Baba Ramdev was on a hunger strike against corruption along with 65,000 followers when the police, on the government's orders, decided to dismantle the elaborate camp that had been set up at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. (ANI)