Baba Ramdev gets permission to hold agitation at Ramlila ground

NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev today got the permissions from Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to hold an agitation at the Ramlila ground here from August 9 in support of his demand for bringing back black money stashed abroad.

Ramdev thanked the police and the municipal corporation in a statement for permitting him to go ahead with his stir and said it was going to be a historic and decisive fight.

"People are eagerly waiting for the day. Over 25,000 to 30,000 people have registered from far off states to participate in the agitation while lakhs would be joining from adjoining states like Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand," he said.

Attacking the government for the arrest of his aide Balkrishna by the CBI three days back, he said, "Misusing its machinery, the government is sending the agitators to jail on the charges of sedition, murder and other false allegations."

But after meeting Balkrishna in prison, the yoga guru said Balkrishna told him that no agitation succeeds without agitators being sent to jail, as they consider it their real home.

"Even Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Ram Prasad Bismil were sent to jail during British Raj, but the government is allowing corrupt ministers to loot the country's natural resources, jungle and land," Ramdev said.

Ramdev had alleged that Balkrishna was being targeted because he was his close aide.