Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) Parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) joined Team Anna Saturday in condemning the ink attack on yoga guru Baba Ramdev here.

“The ink throwing on Baba Ramdev is shocking and deserves outright condemnation,” BJP leader Sushma Swaraj posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Party leader Arun Jaitley said the attacker should be sent to jail.

“We strongly condemn it. He (Ramdev) is a big social and religious leader who has a good reputation and is spreading his movement against corruption and black money,” Jaitley told reporters.

“Those opposing can criticise…we condemn attacking such personality,” he said.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad said the practice of attacking personalities was spreading “like a disease”.

“It is spreading like a disease. Someone threw a shoe at George Bush, and so all are following it,” he said. “Ramdev is a good person, he has done good work. I condemn it.”

He said such attackers needed to be punished.

“Inke dimag ka screw dheela ho gaya hai, kanoon se kasna padega (their mental screws have loosened, it needs to be fixed legally),” he added.

Team Anna member Manish Sisodia said the attack was an attempt to divert attention from the issue of corruption and black money being raised by Ramdev.

“The person who attacked Ramdev represents the corrupt powers. They have done this so that attention could be diverted from the issue of black money and corruption that Baba Ramdev is raising,” Sisodia said.

A man, identified as Kamran Siddiqui, threw black ink at Baba Ramdev while he was addressing journalists at the Constitution Club here Saturday.

Siddiqui was detained by the police after he was caught and roughed up by Ramdev’s supporters within the club premises.