New Delhi: Are Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, both of whom have taken to fasting to protest against graft, leading the same agitation? Their protests have the common goals of bringing back the lakhs of crores of Rupees stashed in tax havens all around the world, of ensuring accountability of those who misuse power to accumulate personal wealth and of injecting an element of transparency into an otherwise translucent system.
But the constituencies the two protests have drawn appear to differ markedly, belying, if not compromising, the final goal. Some of the leading figures of Anna’s agitation, including Kiran Bedi, Justice Santosh Hegde and Anna himself, have welcomed Baba Ramdev’s agitation. However, certain other activists like Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar have maintained a conscious distance from the latest group of agitators while supporting the cause.
The morning of June 4, when Baba Ramdev launched his fast with a Yoga session, saw many elements of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) congregate at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Sadhvi Ritambhara, member of both RSS and VHP and one of the accused in the Babri Mosque demolition case, has joined the fast and is sharing the dais with Baba.
This has not bothered Kiran Bedi who tells CNN-IBN, “The cause of Baba Ramdev is the same as that of Anna Hazare. We met Baba Ramdev before he sat on Dharna. We are with Baba for a common cause; it is a fight against corruption. We should see the cause and not the colour.” In her own words, there is tacit admission that there is now an added element of colour.
While Medha Patkar has denounced the Ramlila Maidan show as a publicity stunt, Justice Santosh Hegde feels, “Presence of communal forces does not matter till it is confined to fight against corruption. Background of the person is not important if it's fight aganist corruption. This shows that people from all walks of life are joining the campaign.”
The eminent jurist’s statement assumes a different dimension as he is, in effect, defending someone who, as an accused in the Babri Mosque demolition case, is also responsible for igniting the communal riots which claimed thousands of lives across the country. One wonders what he has to say about Baba’s idea of justice that “The corrupt must be given death sentence.”
Swami Agnivesh’s statement sums up the divisions in the ranks of the civil society: “Communalism should be kept away from this fight against corruption.” He goes on to make a point for Anna Hazare too: “Anna Hazare has kept his fight against corruption away from politics. We don't want to see the civil rights group divided. Anna Hazare is very particular abput keeping people like Sadhvi Ritambhara away from the dais.”
While Anna’s movement drew the moderate middle class individuals who believe in holding candlelight vigils, the overriding colour of the file of Baba’s agitation is Saffron. And in this melee, a growing schism in what started out as a unified movement of ordinary Indians is clearly visible.
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