It was meant to be a show of unity by Team Anna and Swami Ramdev,who have had at best an uneasy relationship. However,Sundays anti-corruption protest was marred by a public dispute between the two sides on whether names of corrupt politicians should be taken. Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal was publicly snubbed by yoga guru Ramdev for taking names of the allegedly corrupt ministers. Kejriwal left soon after,apparently having taken ill. Later,he tweeted that names have to be taken in a movement like this. In his opening remarks,Ramdev termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who has been named among the 15 corrupt ministers by Team Anna,as honest but said he should top it with an honest Cabinet too. Hazare and his team played second fiddle at the day-long fast,that focused on seeking return of black money stashed abroad and passage of the Lokpal Bill. Posters of Ramdev,his aide Balkrishna and of Rajabala,who died after the police crackdown at Ramlila Maidan during Ramdevs protest last year,occupied pride of place,while Hazares pictures were mostly at the back. Hazare spent some five hours on the stage before he got a chance to speak. The only person to deal at length on black money the issue of the day was Ramdev himself,with a passing mention of the Lokpal thrown in. Adding to the discomfiture of Team Anna was a self-immolation attempt by a disgruntled volunteer in an Anna cap,who claimed he had been mistreated by Kejriwal. It was Kejriwal who dwelt at length on the corruption charges Team Anna had brought against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his 14 ministers and said the CBI was used by the government mainly to acquire support,naming Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party),Mayawati (BSP) and Jayalalithaa (AIADMK). The routine of the crowd,egged on by Kejriwal,was on full display. However,no sooner had he finished than Ramdev took the mike and said: We had taken a decision not to name names today because names tend to create controversy and obfuscate the issue. However Arvind has already taken names,so I do not want to quarrel with him. Kejriwal left the stage,where he had been sitting for close to four hours,almost immediately. He later tweeted that he had sought the permission of Hazare and Ramdev to leave because of ill health. Ramdev repeated that statement and appealed that this should not be treated as a difference of opinion,though the days protocol had been not to take names. While Kejriwal too denied differences,his tweet made it clear that he believed he was in the right. This is a political battle and we will have to name and shame and demand severe action against corrupt people. I will personally speak to Swami Ramdevji. I am sure I will be able to persuade him that naming is important, he tweeted. When he spoke at the end of the days protest,Ramdev reiterated his opposition to names,claiming that in 99 cases out of 100,he had been able to get his message across without getting personal. He trained his guns on the Congress without naming anyone,and then added: See,I did not name anybody but I did make my point. From June 4 to August 8,Ramdev announced,volunteers would collect signatures on a memorandum to be submitted to the Prime Minister. He added that he would meet all politicians,including BJP president Nitin Gadkari,Mulayam,RJD chief Lalu Yadav and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the matter. Ramdev also voiced his support for the Naxal cause. They are fighting for the right things,just that their way is not right, he said. Criticising Singhs statement describing hunger and malnutrition as a national shame,the yoga guru said statements do not solve problems. The Hazare-Ramdev association has been a divisive one. Medha Patkar,a member of the India Against Corruptions core committee,had been critical of this on the ground that a movement such as theirs shouldnt ally with a man who himself faces corruption charges. A day after Hazares recent joint press conference with the yoga guru,another core committee member,lawyer Prashant Bhushan,had said that there was no question of a joint platform between them and Ramdev. Bhushan did not participate in Sundays proceedings as he is out of the country. Earlier,eulogy to Ramdev dominated the proceedings at the Parliament Street protest as his Patanjali Yogpeeth was glorified and the government vilified for the numerous notices issued to that organisation. References to Babas prowess and his Brahmastra were made,as well as claims that a return to traditional knowledge and ways of life were the only route to lost glory. Ramdev was praised for having forgiven the government for the mistreatment of his followers in Ramlila Maidan.
