Baba Ramdev's

Addressing his supporters at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, Baba Ramdev on Friday called for stringent punishment against the corrupt to curb the menace of corruption in the society.

TRANSLATION OF BABA RAMDEV'S SPEECH AT RAMLILA GROUND

All those people who have come from far in this heat, under adverse conditions, without caring for their comforts are doing everything for their nation…today when there's no time for our own family, at this time a 'sanyasi' has decided to end corruption and to change things today…I am thankful that you all have come in thousands. I can understand your determination and emotions and from tomorrow, the "bhrashtachar mitao satyagraha" which will start, will also comprise women and children. I am thankful to you all. The primary cause is to change an established order. I asked little children what they will do…and they said they would fast to bring back black money. They said, "Even we will fight against corruption with you'. I can see even a one-year-old in the audience. My words fall short… I am so touched.

I agree there are some good leaders, businessmen but the corrupt politicians… have lakhs and crores of rupees that they have gained from the people's hard earned money. So they are people who have

eventually become strong. They are not of good character…these corrupt people have gained strength through so much money. Today America is a superpower, UK, Germany and France are superpowers…but we forget that all these countries are in crores of debt. What does this mean? This is actional tax. They have gained this money by exploiting poor countries like India. All the corrupt people in India who have not been faithful to 'Bharat Mata' will not want black money to come back. Now, when there's an anti-corruption movement in the country, even people like Maulana ji, Rizwiji are here to lend their support…this is not a political or business agenda and nor do we have any underground agenda. Our agenda is to get black money back. We have to end corruption. And inspired by this idea, we are all asking for our rights by adopting an enthusiastic yet peaceful means of protest.

If black money is brought back in this country, no one will go hungry, no one will be without a livelihood. Our currency will be stronger than the dollar or pound. I want to see that day soon… the currency should stand at $1=Rs 50. I want to see an India like that. When we bring back black money, this will be possible. Our country's pride will rise. A country that was known for its good values is now the leading country when it comes to corruption and poverty, lack of education, population density, hunger and poverty…this is of deep anguish to me. The same country that was the pinnacle of discipline and knowledge of science and maths, geography, …the country that taught others to live has now become a country of vice. We will restore its lost glory. There will be hope and trust and we will strive for a better India.

Corruption will and that will be a step forward. This is not a small thing or small endeavour. Our children will not need to go abroad and study and our children who go there will not suffer murders and disrespect (possible allusion to racism). "Yogya bhi sikhayenge, desh bhi bachayenge, kala dhan layenge, aur Hindustan ko takatvar banayenge." Aren't there at least 400 people in this country like Hasan Ali? Aren't there at least 250 people like A Raja? This is not even a Hindu-Muslim issue…this stems from a demonic tendency in human beings. Corruption has permeated everywhere.

We have asked the government to make a Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act whereby every individual's work that involves going to a government servant is completed within a month or else a fine up to Rs 250-500 is imposed upon the government servant. If the government official in question repeatedly does this, he should be made to resign.

The corrupt should be punished and black money be recovered from them. They should be punished with life imprisonment or death sentence.

So brothers and sisters, I have 3 demands from the government-

1. The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 should be amended. I am the son of a farmer and I know the pain of agricultural land-owners. No one should take away even an inch of the farmer's land from him without his permission. The Baba you love I was also into agriculture before becoming a yogi. A peon earns 15k but a farmer after working day and night gets suicide…death. Government policies should be pro-farmers.

2. In the education sector, there should be no injustice. In India, a majority of the people are not given access to English. In medical and engineering exams, questions should be in regional languages so that people of the lower strata emerge with flying colours.

3. The PM should be directly elected by the people.

Our protest is not political in nature….neither do we want to outdo or oust anyone. The government has conceded to some of our demands.. the talks with the government seem to be along positive lines. Our motive is to end corruption and change the present situation of the country.

I am deeply grateful to all of you. We are doing all this for our country…we are merely repaying some of what we owe to our motherland. This is our duty. This protest will include people of all rungs. If political parties wish to join the endeavour, they are most welcome to because they will be fighting for the truth.

If we can spend 25 to 50 lakhs to recover crores of rupees then this is worth it. The pandals constructed and fans running for this cause are out of the hard earned money of people not through black money or the black money in Swiss banks. Ninety-nine of our campaign comprises the "aam junta". This campaign is not promoted by Coca Cola or Pepsi or any other MNC. People of all caste and creed are present here. This "satyagraha" is for truth.

All my brothers from the print media… (not clear) who have given a coverage of 2-4 full pages about this campaign or highlighted the names of those who have coveted black money through unfair means is appreciated. And I also want to thank the electronic media for covering this event. A huge round of applause for the media.

02233081122 is the number. When I asked people to show their support for the campaign through miss calls, more than 55 lakh miss calls have already been registered and by tomorrow, more than 1 crore miss calls will be registered. We have already made a world record. These miss calls will help to further awaken the masses. "This is not a yogya leela but a rashtra leela. Ram leela ke maidan mein, bhrashtachar ke raavan ka vaddh hoha."

Many asked me, "Baba, how many will join this protest in this heat?" I said, "Those will come who love their motherland. No one can stop them. Not the sun and not the heat." Those who will not be able to come, can in their hearts support this movement. If you get lemon with water, I will get only water. This time we will write history.

Devendra Sharma- We are thankful to him. He has been agitating for farmers' rights since a long time. Also, we want to thank Haryana Lokyukta- Justice Shri Pritam Pal who is part of our campaign and Dr. Kulbir Shikara who keeps me updated on policy decisions and all other intellectuals who are present here today…also Jaideepji and Rakeshji.

We all share a common motherland. All those people who want justice will say we want to eliminate justice and recover black money.

The crucial work of character-building is our continuous agenda which is already in progress in villages. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christians have all united for this cause. Some people have started their fast today itself.

"Hum Dilli Dilli jayenge..apna Hind banayenge, yogi banke rehna hai, fauji banke rehna hai, har dard dilon mein sehna hai."

Baba Ramdev's fast looms over government

New Delhi:  With Baba Ramdev insisting that his hunger strike against corruption will begin as scheduled on Saturday, the government has decided to change its strategy. The new guidelines for ministers who are in touch with the yoga icon dictate that while talks will continue, they will be held on the government's terms.

The government has also decided that senior ministers, especially Pranab Mukherjee, will not meet him again for further talks. The decision came after a meeting of the Congress core committee in Delhi this evening.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal has said he will meet Baba Ramdev tomorrow and the talks will continue. "As politicians we have to meet people. This shouldn't be seen as weakness. If the government is serious and Ramdev is serious, there should be no problem in resolving the issue," he said.

Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay are also likely to meet with Baba Ramdev.

New Delhi:  With Baba Ramdev insisting that his hunger strike against corruption will begin as scheduled on Saturday, the government has decided to change its strategy. The new guidelines for ministers who are in touch with the yoga icon dictate that while talks will continue, they will be held on the government's terms.

The government has also decided that senior ministers, especially Pranab Mukherjee, will not meet him again for further talks. The decision came after a meeting of the Congress core committee in Delhi this evening.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal has said he will meet Baba Ramdev tomorrow and the talks will continue. "As politicians we have to meet people. This shouldn't be seen as weakness. If the government is serious and Ramdev is serious, there should be no problem in resolving the issue," he said.

Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay are also likely to meet with Baba Ramdev.

Sources have told NDTV that a draft is being prepared by the government on key issues raised by Baba Ramdev, which will be sent to the ministers and the yoga guru tomorrow.

The Government's tougher stand - at least on paper - hopes to undo some of the damage done after four senior ministers including Pranab Mukherjee greeted Mr Ramdev at the Delhi Airport yesterday. It seemed to be an embarrassing attempt at appeasement, one that did not go down well with the Congress party.

The ministers spent more than two hours with the yoga icon at the airport lounge, reassuring him that the government is serious about tackling corruption with a series of measures including a tough new Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) which is scheduled to be presented in Parliament by the end of this month.

That bill is being drafted by a committee that couples five ministers with five representatives of civil society led by veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare. Earlier this year, it was Mr Hazare's hunger strike that served as a call to action for middle class India which organized a series of protests across the country, demanding that the government end decades of lethargy to introduce a Lokpal Bill that will combat corruption within the government and bureaucrats.

Mr Ramdev's critics say that his fast against corruption is a concerted effort to upstage Mr Hazare - an argument that was bolstered when the Baba contradicted Mr Hazare to state that the Prime Minister and senior judges should not be covered by the Lokpal Bill. Today, however, Mr Ramdev said that he had suggested only that this point be debated.

In Pune, Mr Hazare said he will join the Baba's fast at Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan, where thousands of people are expected to show up starting Saturday. He also said the posse of four ministers that met Mr Ramdev at the airport are not to be trusted because the government is set on diluting the Lokpal Bill. (Watch: Hazare warns Ramdev against govt)

"They will trap Ramdev also. They will cheat him. What is the need for so many people to go? It was ok for one or two to go," the Gandhian said.

The government stands to benefit greatly if Mr Ramdev emerges as a parallel power centre in civil society. Mr Hazare's determination to have non-government representatives involved with the drafting of the Lokpal Bill set a new precedent for India - one that the government tried to fight and has described as dangerous.

But given the overwhelming public support that Mr Hazare received, the government is keen to avoid yet another confrontation with civil society activists. There's also the added concern that the Baba could ally more closely with the Opposition BJP, which has been targeting the government for being tolerant of corruption.

Government sources say that's why the four ministers were seen at the airport yesterday.  It was upto Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh to indicate that perhaps the government was making too much of the Baba by taking him seriously as a crusader of the people.  "Baba Ramdev is not a guru, he's a businessman. If Congress were scared of him, it would have put Ramdev behind bars. Ramdev is more of a businessman now. He charges Rs. 50,000 for teaching yoga," he said.  (Watch: Digvijaya upset with red carpet for Ramdev?)

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