PM Manmohan Singh appeals to Baba Ramdev to call off his fast

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday went the extra mile to persuade yoga guru Ramdev not to go ahead with his hunger strike from June 4, promising him to find a "practical and pragmatic" solution to tackle the issue of corruption.

"This is not a personal issue. We all agree with Ramdev that corruption is a big problem and that we are committed to tackling it with all the resources at our disposal," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The remarks by the Prime Minister came close on the heels of a letter he had written to Ramdev "welcoming his constructive suggestions to improve governance".

He also assured the yoga guru that the government was "eager to work with you and members of civil society towards building just and prosperous India".

Informing Ramdev that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his officers would continue to have discussions with him on the issues that he has raised, Singh hoped in the letter that "you will now reverse your decision to go on a hunger strike unto death".

"We will work with Ramdev earnestly in finding a practical and pragmatic solution to the problem. The question is what is possible way and what is feasible. There are laws", Singh said.