Ironically, the Ramdev movement on black money has been forgotten and the focus now is to fix the government on the midnight drama of dispersing the crowds from the Ramlila maidan. The opposition parties including the BJP and the left are now attacking the government for the way Ramdev was removed rather than the real issue of black money. It is also turning political with the Congress versus the rest.

For instance, the government has come out in a very poor light. There seems to be a kneejerk reaction. First it built up Ramdev to divide the Anna Hazare camp to kill the Lok Pal bill. Prime Minister sent four top ministers to the airport in an unprecedented manner to negotiate with him. When that backfired, it sent the police to disperse the crowds at the Ram Lila maidan at midnight invoking criticism from all round including the Congress party. The ministers had not been transparent about their negotiations and tried to split the civil society and the Ramdev camp. Having done all these, when the whole thing collapsed, now the government is going into the background of the Rs 1100 crore Ramdev Empire and the income tax authorities and Health ministry are digging into his affairs. Above all, the government action has given a new lease of life to the opposition which has become united in attacking the Congress party and the government.

As for Ramdev, he had miscalculated his strength and thought that the government would not touch him because of his popularity and his ability to mobilise crowds. After the negotiations with the four ministers at the airport he was walking in the clouds. But this changed in a few hours as his credentials had taken a beating by the way he disappeared from the Ramlila maidan wearing a woman’s clothes. Had he remained and got arrested his stature would have gone up. His claim that he was going to be murdered does not stand to reason. He had not been transparent about his negotiations with the government and tried to hood wink his negotiators with the result he got exposed. Above all he was not focused on his fast on one issue – that of black money and had given too many demands. He has been driven to a corner with the U.P, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi out of bounds for his yoga camps after the Ramlila fiasco. With more and more revelations about his empire, he has lost the halo he had earlier.

The Congress has been clever in dealing with the issue and distanced itself initially from the government’s action. The Congress in fact tried to occupy the opposition space by criticizing the government’s moves. AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh was the one-man army who spoke against Ramdev and got the party to endorse his line. The party had no answer why the government was dealing with the yoga guru if he was not a desirable person. It is doubtful whether its strategy to convert the whole thing into a political fight will work now.

The BJP and the Sangh parivar tried to use the yoga guru to fight the government. The RSS was upset that the government was talking about the Hindu terror and propped up Ramdev to fight black money. It was the RSS which mobilised the crowds in Ramlila maidan and supported the movement in a big way. However, instead of remaining in the background suddenly the presence of Sadhavi Ritambara and others on the dais has exposed the yoga guru with the result there was some adverse publicity. The BJP should have taken up the issue at a political level instead of hiding behind the yoga guru.

The civil society led by Anna Hazare was upbeat after it got the joint committee to draft the Lokpal bill and was riding high. Ramdev was annoyed with the civil society for hijacking what he felt was his issue. The two did not work together as there was jealousy. Anna Hazare and social activists like Medha Patkar were critical about the money spent on the Ramlila event. There was no unity between Ramdev and Anna camp in fighting the black money issue.

Players like Ramdev, Anna Hazare, BJP and RSS can afford to commit mistakes but can the government do so? The UPA 2 has moved from one crisis to another these past few months. First it was Commonwealth Games, Adarsh society scam, 2 G spectrum allocation, and resignation of A. Raja, arrest of Kanimozhi, then the Anna Hazare movement and now the Ramdev fiasco. The unfortunate thing is that the government has only been reacting and not acting. The government has its responsibilities, which have to be carried out to the satisfaction of the people who have elected this government. That is where there is a problem as there is a governance deficit and there is also trust deficit. This needs to be bridged urgently as the impression that the government is unable to handle things is gaining ground in the public. The government has to bridge the communication gap urgently if it has to survive the rest of the term. It should show some action and not merely react to situation. (IPA Service)