PUNE, July 17: Ahead of their proposed protests in Delhi, Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev today launched an attack on the UPA government accusing it of not showing enough resolve in tackling corruption and bringing back blackmoney stashed away abroad.
Hazare and Ramdev said they will support each other in the fight. Team Anna is launching an indefinite protest from July 25 in Jantar Mantar while Ramdev’s protest starts from August nine in Ramlila Maidan.
“Ramdev is fighting to bring back blackmoney. We are demanding a strong Lokpal to fight corruption. But the government has no intention to do so. They do not have the will power.
“Why efforts are not being taken to bring blackmoney stashed abroad? There may be people in government who have hidden blackmoney. This may be the reason. What is preventing them from taking action?” Hazare told reporters.
On his part, Ramdev said people have been waiting for a strong Lokpal and bringing back blackmoney for over a year but the “government has time and again hoodwinked public”.
“The intention of the government to bring a strong Lokpal does not seem to be right. So now a decision has to be made till what time you have to go on with agitation, how we can get a strong Lokpal Bill and how we can bring back blackmoney,” Ramdev said.
Whenever these issues are raised, Hazaer said, they were told that these are just allegations and there is no proof. Without an independent investigation, he added, the truth will not come out.
“We demand an independent probe. Not one by the government. We don’t want a CBI probe as the agency is under the control of government,” he said.
Hazare alleged the government is not bringing a strong Lokpal because if there is a legislation, many of the ministers will land in jail resulting in collapse of the government.
The government cheated people repeatedly on the issue of Lokpal, he alleged.
“The issue went to the Standing Committee. People were cheated. It went to Parliament, we were cheated. People were repeatedly cheated by the government,” he charged.
Till a strong Lokpal Bill is enacted and blackmoney is brought back, he said, the protests will continue.
Ramdev said if the government does not take “some big decisions” now, people will be disheartened.
The two activists said they would chart out a plan of action on August Kranti Din (August 9) to mobilise masses for “transformation of system”.
“Anna is the father figure who would guide all social organisations who join our fight against black money and corruption. There is a conducive atmosphere to bring about a change in the country,” Ramdev said.
Referring to allegations of corruption levelled by his team against Prime Minister and 14 of his cabinet colleagues, Hazare said an impartial inquiry should be conducted to probe the charges.
Hazare said the future agitation against corruption and black money would be jointly carried out by him and Ramdev.
Ramdev parried questions on whether he had plans to float a political party to fight the 2014 general elections.
“The current agitation is not linked to elections”, he said, adding elections could be held even before 2014.
Asked about reports that he met Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid in a small village near Pune on June 23, Hazare said, “I will talk when time comes”. (PTI)
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