Baba is back!

After June 4th, traumatic night at Delhi, Swami Ramdev organised his yoga camp at Haridwar and this time there is no participation fee

P.S. Chauhan

After the traumatic incident of the night of June 4 at the Ramlila Ground in Delhi and his 8-day fast against corruption and black money, Swami Ramdev took a few days rest before organizing his week-long yoga shivir at Patanjali Yoga Peeth here.

It was for the first time, after his meteoric rise as yog guru, that he organized a free yoga camp and free boardings and lodging facilities were also provided to the yoga learners. So far, attending the yoga camp of Baba Ramdev used to be a pocket taxing exercise. The move to organize a free yoga camp was obviously a bid to provide a philanthropic touch to his activities at a time when the baba is the butt of criticism for his commercial and industrial projects and is being targeted by a section of political parties and social outfits.

Though the baba tried to put up a brave face in the yoga sessions of the camp, his entire bearing betrayed the impact of the recent developments and of his being under the scanner of the intelligence agencies. On the first day of the camp the baba strictly confined himself to the various nuances of the yoga. However, as the camp progressed, the baba came back in his real form and started mixing yoga with religion and politics.

While teaching yoga, the baba told the yoga enthusiasts that yoga led to holistic health and is a panacea for curing serious ailments such as hypertension, diabetes and heart diseases. In his speeches he openly attacked the central government and charged that the government wanted to eliminate him during the midnight crackdown on his camp in Delhi. "Since he has not been eliminated, he will now eliminate the existing system," he asserted. Buoyed up by the judgement of the Supreme Court, he told the press that his stand has been vindicated. "The setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the Apex Court on the issue of the black money is a big slap on the face of the central government. The country is thankful to the Apex Court. Had the government accepted his demands, it would not have to face this humiliation. If the black money, stashed in the foreign banks, is brought back in the country, we shall become super power economically and militarily," said the baba. Referring to the treasure trove of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trust, he said that the government had no right to take over the money of the trusts and the Hindu shrines.

The baba is now planning to hold a 2nd free yoga camp at Patanjali Yoga Peeth here from July 25. Obviously the baba is trying to retrieve some of his lost grounds and dilute the allegations.