Hazare to join Ramdev’s fast, says govt is cheating us

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Accusing the government of cheating civil right activists on the issue of Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare on Thursday extended his support to yoga guru Ramdev’s fast against corruption and said he will join the agitation.

The Gandhian said that the government lacks intention to root out corruption from the system.

“I will join Baba Ramdev on June 5. The fight is against corruption. The government has tried to cheat us. The government had assured us that they would look into our demand,” he said, adding that he would hold discussions with the yoga guru on the way forward.

He said the government has “cheated" civil right activists on the issue of Lokpal Bill and people have realised the betrayal by the government.

“I will support Baba Ramdev so that the government does not do what it did when we were fighting. We will fight together against corruption,” he said, ading that “henceforth, we will not be content with oral assurances on the issue of weeding out corruption”.

Hazare also noted that the yoga guru has a standing in the public and wherever he goes people gather to hear him.

His remarks came a day after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee accompanied by Kapil Sibal, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Subodh Kant Sahay held talks with Ramdev on Wednesday to persuade him to give up his indefinite fast on corruption but the yoga guru said he would go ahead with it from June 4.

Government’s efforts to prevent a repeat of a situation that evolved when Hazare-led civil society mounted a campaign for a strong Lokpal in April appeared to have not yielded immediate fruits as Ramdev insisted on “action” rather than “assurances” on the issue of bringing back black money stashed abroad.

Hazare also made it clear that everybody should comeunder the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

He said the government was getting its act together now only after Ramdev made it clear that he would start his agitation from June 4.

“For so many days we are demanding (immediate implementation of the Lokpal Bill), why did the government not listen to us. Now the government is running just because time has to come to sit on fast, he said.

“Baba Ramdev has been raising the issue of black money from so many days. Why did the government not think of doing something on the issue.People have now come to know what the intentions of the government are,” he said.

Hazare said the fight against corruption will continue till their demands are met.

“Now no more hollow assurances and oral promises. What we want is action and the fight against corruption will continue throughout the country till we get what we want,” he said.