Baba Ramdev campaign ends in a whimper

PATANJALI (HARIDWAR): The week long drama came to an end this Friday on almost scripted lines as Baba Ramdev, the protagonist was carried away in a stretcher to a hospital of the Himalayan Trust near Dehradun. The district magistrate of Haridwar was personally present here to take Baba Ramdev to the hospital. Earlier in the day, the chief medical officer had said that the Baba's health had deteriorated and there was an urgent need to move him to the intensive cardiac care unit for constant monitoring.

With The central government paying no heed to his demands, after he was ejected from the Ramlila ground in the wee hours last Sunday, there was little that Ramdev could hope for. This perhaps was the only escape route for him as there was very little he could do about his campaign. It had lost its steam once it moved out of Delhi. His failed attempts to take it closer to the power centre like Noida too was rejected by UP Cm Mayawati.

While on the one hand, the support was losing ground, on the other, the activities of Ramdev and his aides, particularly Balakrishna was under the scanner. Questions on the companies they operate, their business, shareholding pattern etc came up for questioning even as media glare turned towards the personal details of his aides. It was a lost game by day end on Thursday and it was only a matter of time before Ramdev would have to resort to the medical route to end the strike.