Government wanted to kill me: Ramdev (Lead)
June 5th, 2011 - 6:20 pm ICT by IANS
Haridwar, June 5 (IANS) Reaching his ashram here after being forcefully evicted from Delhi’s Ramlila Ground in a midnight police raid, a visibly shaken Baba Ramdev Sunday accused the government of plotting against him and trying to get him killed.
“They wanted to kidnap me and kill me, or send me somewhere,” the yoga guru said at a press conference here.
He termed the police action inhuman and barbaric.
“Yesterday at the Ramlila maidan, about 1 lakh people felt the force of the police. The scenario was hurtful and barbaric,” he said.
“My fast has not ended,” he said about the hunger strike against corruption which he had launched at the Ramlila Ground Saturday morning but which was halted by the late night police action.
Nursing a sore throat and at times teary-eyed, Ramdev said: “Despite my pleadings, police did not leave women and children but attacked them.”
“No other nation would have shown this much of roughness against its citizens. Such situations were not witnessed even during the Emergency period (1975-77). One can compare it with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre,” he said.
He also accused the government and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal of cheating him.
“Government is betraying us and creating a conspiracy against us. Acharyaji (Balakrishna) was pressurised…we talked to President Pratibha Patil and Sonia Gandhi and also finance minister and were told that a letter has to be submitted.
“Government said that by the end of June 6, all our demands will be accepted and then you can end your fast and protest. We were forced to write this (letter) and were told it will be presented to the prime minister.
“Kapil Sibal is a liar and a cunning person, he cheated and mislead us,” he said, adding that he was forced into signing the letter.
Sibal had made public a handwritten note in which Ramdev had agreed to end his stir in two days.
Ramdev also attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
“I thought she is not born in this country but is the daughter-in-law of this country, But by ordering attack on one lakh people, she proved she does not love the people (of this country),” he said.
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Tags: 1 lakh, ashram, congress president sonia gandhi, development minister, handwritten note, human resource development, hunger strike, jallianwala bagh massacre, kapil sibal, late night, liar, maidan, pleadings, police action, police raid, president pratibha patil, ramlila, saturday morning, sore throat, yoga guru