Ramdev respite for Anna; Congress, BJP welcome Hazare's plan to form political party

NEW DELHI: It took yoga guru Baba Ramdev's presence to breathe some life into Team Anna's movement, which has evoked tepid response from the public in the last two days.

Ramdev kept his promise to social activist Anna Hazare and joined his stir as he marched from Ramlila Maidan to the protest site at Jantar Mantar along with 2,000 supporters.

Though he brought the much-needed numbers to the movement, Ramdev differed with Team Anna over attacking newly-elected President Pranab Mukherjee.

"One should not criticise those who occupy constitutional posts. Even Anna Hazare agrees with this," Ramdev told reporters before starting his march from Ramlila Maidan.

Fasting Team Anna member Kejriwal, a diabetic whose health condition worsened a bit, made a brief appearance at the dais in the morning, while others like Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai sat with Hazare. Another Team Anna member Kiran Bedi was not present.

Meanwhile both Congress and BJP welcomed Hazare's political ambition to float a 'people's party'. "It is a very welcome statement. I welcome it. Anna Hazare should contest," Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said that in a democracy everyone has a right to form a political party. "We are ourselves fighting corruption," he said. In a television interview on Thursday, Hazare gave an indication in this regard and did not rule the emergence of a 'people's party' in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.