Baba's ground support shrinks on home turf

Crackdown impact

The numbers had drastically fallen, and just within a day after the midnight police action at the Ramlila Maidan. There, it was a sea of followers camping and fasting with him. Back home, Baba Ramdev could well count the number of visitors  trickling in.

Many of those occupying the premium space inside the small pandal premises in sweltering heat were either Trust employees or outstation reporters and cameramen. Within and outside the campus were not many men and women loyalists trotting their way to the fasting stage, only a few with bag and baggage.

Roads leading to the campus were clear of what many visitors had expected to be a harrowing experience of honking horns, unmanageable traffic jams and delays. 

Damage control
Ramdev’s team members were quick in damage control. They said the numbers had fallen as people are in fear after what happened on Sunday midnight. By the evening, team Ramdev could salvage some lost pride as the crowd looked to grow in size, but seemed nowhere even closely comparable to what Ramdev commanded at the Ramlila Maidan a few days ago.

Ramdev, back in his saffron attire, put up a brave front ‘threatening’ to take the government by the horns.

“Let me say that the government will solely be responsible for any revolt or rebellion in the nation in case it troubles sanyasis. The next conspiracy could be to arrest me and put me in jail,” he cautioned.

But at one stage, the yoga guru, perhaps, appeared open for truce. He said, “We are open to talks. The government still has some credible and responsible people.”

Anna Hazare-led group’s plan to fast in Ramdev’s support came as a shot in the arm and Ramdev did not waste time to acknowledge Anna’s gesture. “ I was with Anna and will be with Anna,” he said.

Sedition charges against Digvijay
A local court on Monday accepted a complaint seeking to register a case of sedition against Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh for allegedly describing the yoga guru Ramdev a fraud, PTI reports from Muzaffarpur (Bihar).
Chief Judicial Magistrate R C Malviya accepted the complaint filed by advocate Sudhir Ojha who sought to book Singh under section 154(A) (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC.