Ramdev,once more

Days after Team Anna announced its strategic retreat from fairground agitation and its entry into formal politics,Ramdev,the yoga guru turned self-styled crusader against corruption,has pitched his tent once more at Ramlila Maidan. He will fast for three days for his pet cause — bringing back black money from faraway foreign banks. The UPA,this time,is looking away disdainfully. After its embarrassing overestimation of the Anna Hazare-led campaign,the government thinks it knows the limits of such cause-mongering.

The government is too complacent too soon. Ramdev’s absurd ideas are not the point,the people gathering at Ramlila Maidan are. While Ramdev’s locus standi has always been questionable,especially so on corruption,given his own controversy-riddled empire,the government must ask itself if it is also contributing to his show. Yes,Ramdev commands an impressive machine,and arranging audiences of hundreds or even thousands of people is no problem for him. Yes,many of those at his “protest” are probably not going be to won over by this government’s arguments,whatever they may be. And yet,it is a shame that through the last year and more,as Anna’s agitation peaked and died and Ramdev continued to rage and entertain,the UPA has not even tried to reach out to the people. In a sense,the enthusiasm for this showboating swami — his jokes,exhortations and his direct address to the crowd — throws the UPA’s impassivity and aloofness into even sharper relief.

Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi,who head the government and its leading party respectively,are rarely seen and almost never heard. Their reticence makes the rest of the government reluctant to speak,even unsure of its agenda. The UPA has been a terrible communicator. There are no venues where the government squares with citizens,explains its actions and wish list,apart from a few platitudinous speeches on Independence Day or other occasions. The PMO’s much talked-up Twitter handle is little more than a speeded-up Doordarshan,monotonously listing the PM’s messages and photo-ops. The event at Ramlila Maidan is,in part,a reminder of the need to talk to the people. Such persuasion does not cease with an election,and is,in fact,an ongoing responsibility for those in power.