New Delhi:
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Gandhian activist Anna Hazare are holding a day-long fast in Delhi today as a mark of their protest against corruption and black money. Approximately 5000 of their followers have gathered at the protest venue to show their supports. Here are the highlights of what the yoga said:
- I was told it's too hot. I said it doesn't matter if it's hot or cold... this is the beginning of our protest
- We are looking at united pan-India protest against corruption
- We will get back the black money stashed abroad
- And to ensure this doesn't happen again, we will also campaign for a strong Lokpal
- PM should not just be honest himself, he should be democratically, constitutionally honest
- Mr PM you must keep your cabinet ministers honest too
- Ruling party says the country doesn't run by protests, laws are not made on the streets. They say they are the representatives of the people. We say the law of the land says the people are supreme
- We have laws that were foisted on us by our British rulers...we need new 'swadeshi' laws
- In our country, people are dying of starvation, farmers are committing suicide, children do not have the right to equal education. Our country is being held economic hostage by foreign companies
- Even after 65 years of independence, major sections of the population have not got the social and economic justice they were promised
- In the Ramlila grounds last year, we saw "Ravanlila"
- This country doesn't belong to the government, it belongs to 121 crore Indians and we will together save this country from corruption
- If netas are not corrupt, why are they shying away from making a strong Lokpal Bill?
- When they can't find anything against us, they files cases against Baba (Ramdev's) associates.
- The whole country saw how Anna Hazare's associates were harassed. But they could not break our resolve
- You want to bulldoze my Patanjali Yogapeeth. I will construct 500 more. Do what you can do
- Yoga bhi sikhayenge, desh bhi bachayenge, kala dhan bhi layenge, bhrashtachar bhi mitayenge (Will continue to teach and practice yoga but also agitate on corruption, black money and issues of national interest)
- If in the last 30 years, this black money had not been accumulated, our economy would have been 7% larger
- If this black money had not been there, we would have had an economy as large as America, China. They would have been behind us.
- Our growth would not have come down from 9% to 5%. Rupee would not have been devalued. The Finance Minister must answer for this
- Rajiv Gandhi said when we send money from Delhi, only 20% reaches villages. When he spoke that was an ideal. When Anna and Baba raise this issue, we become villains
- This money - black money - is invested in gold, in IPL where girls dance and players are bought
- People in the government say we are propped up by the media - what is the media's fault?
- FDI in this country is about 20 lakh crores. If one of us has 20 lakhs, the government asks us 'what is the source?'
- We ask the government what is the source of this FDI; and who is the ultimate beneficiary
- Today, we have taken this protest to 28 state capitals. But it's not just the people in Jantar Mantar, in state capitals but people in 647 districts of the country who will raise their voice against corruption
- The government should declare black money as national property; but that is not enough to get it back. Government must declare the names of the offenders
- If we had called people from all over India, there would have been 1 crore people. But I must warn, this menace will not be over in one day, we will continue our protests
- We are prepared to shed our blood for the country