The Sangh Parivar is riding piggyback on the anti-corruption campaign. But what is Anna camp’s not-so-secret game?
Akash Bisht Delhi
27 Aug 2011As Baba Ramdev approached the dais at Jantar Mantar on the fourth day of Anna Hazare’s fast against corruption in April 2011, the crowds jostled for space to get a view of the television celebrity. Loud applause greeted Ramdev. The entire Anna camp had smiles on their faces. Pumping himself, Ramdev started his speech with ‘Anna tum aage badho, hum tumhare saath hai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ before declaring that all the corrupt should be hanged. He also sang a “typical RSS song”, as a Hindi TV journalist informed. His supporters had literally taken over the show; it appeared as if the Anna campaign had skidded and Ramdev had successfully hijacked it. “Yes, he tried it. Had he come just to support us, he wouldn’t have engaged in such a drama. When someone tries to hijack something, it shows,” Swami Agnivesh later told Hardnews in April.