Swami Ramdev Establishes Political Party in India: Will he succeed?

Swami Ramdev (real name is Ramkishan Yadav) is well-known in India as a Hindu swami and a promoter of Yoga. He is the founder of the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and offers Ayurvedic treatments to millions of Indians. The popular swami has announced that he is launching a political party named Bharat Swabhiman. His party will field candidates in all the 543 Lok Sabha seats (lower house of parliament). In a strange decision he said that he will not contest elections himself nor take up a political position. Maybe he wants to be like a Sonia Gandhi (the power behind the power)?



There is no question that politics in India has gone from bad to worse in the last few decades. The Indian government has enacted a wide range of reforms in all sectors except politics and government. Fortunately the election commission itself is largely an independent body and this has helped the commission conduct free and fair elections for the most part. Outcome of elections is not a contentious issue as it once was in the seventies and eighties (many elections held during this period in “volatile” areas were routinely rigged to get favorable outcomes).

Swami Ramdev’s entry into politics should be welcomed. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is the main opposition party in India has completely fallen apart and has lost popular support from mainstream Indians because of its close association with right wing political groups and organizations. Although the main opposition party the BJP itself is a regional party because it has very little support base in South and Northeast Indian states.

The question is whether Bharat Swabhiman is all that different from the BJP? Will Bharat Swabhiman be able to get support form the Indian electorate who traditionally vote for center and left of center parties? If they cannot then all they will achieve is to take away votes from the BJP rather than provide an alternative to the Congress Party lead United Progress Alliance (UPA).

Swami Ramdev’s yoga movement has broad base support in India. It is not restricted to the religious conservatives alone. But politics is different. The Swami has said very little in the past to the secular and religious minorities in India that will give them the confidence to vote for his new party.

The Divya yoga website lists the five targets that they want to achieve as 100% voting, 100% nationalistic thinking, 100% total boycott of foreign companies and complete support to swadeshi, 100% organization of patriots and to make a healthy, prosperous and “cultured” Bharat by using yoga. This is not good news for the secular and progressive minded Indians.

The Swami’s political party has to clearly separate itself from the multimillion dollar yoga business. It also has to articulate and set goals that most people in India can identify with and believe in. Otherwise it will find itself right alongside the BJP, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and others like them as failed entities that tried to change India’s course using Hindutva.

Swami Ramdev talks absurd

Swami Ramdeo is himself sitting over mounds of Black Money.
How it is possible for any one to amass a wealth of over 2000 crores, inside and outside of the country, just in a span of 6-8 years, without the involvement of Black Money ?
No body can do so by white Money alone.
I am NOT telling that the Baba has himself made this money.
This is all donated money, which Baba has accepted, and put to use for the Trust.
But the question is , if he hates Black Money so much, why he has accepted it from the dubious donors. Can simple citizens donate such huge money to Baba ?
Secondly, his intentions raise doubts because he is accusing a single Party , Congress alone, for all the misdoings.
He is not telling anything about the Corruption done by other Parties like BJP, Mayawati, SP, CPM etc.
All the recent scams were started during NDA rule, for which Congress is facing the music.
For Example-
1. 2G Scam was started during NDA. First come First Serve Policy was implemented by NDA, which Raja put into practice. During NDA also selected businessmen were illegally befitted, and money had exchanged hands for the favors.
2. S Band Sam- Agreement was made during 2003, in NDA rule. Now UPA has scrapped it.
3. BJP could never catch Quattrochi, during its six years rule, because there was not any case at all. But it is always shouting and misguiding the nation.
4. Massive Military Scams like Barrak Missiles and Coffin Scams etc happened during NDA, for which George Fernandes had to be removed also.
5. BJP Leaders praise JINNAH. They hand Over Terrorists to Pakistan. Their Foreign Minister himself goes with the Terrorists and hands them over to Pakistan. Where goes Baba's Swabhiman ?
6. Why Baba is mum on Yedyurappa
7. Why Baba is mum on huge expenditure of money in the marriage of Gadkari's son.
7. Wealth accumulation by Mayawati is NOT hidden to any body, but Baba is mum.

There are hundreds of burning examples set by other Parties, but Baba is mum on them. He is only after Congress.
So, Baba does not seem to be impartial on National issue of Blackmoney. If he is serious , he should have raised all the issues , Not only the Congress.
He is simply doing Politics against Congress.This is why his intentions raise doubts.
As regards Black Money, the Government has already made arrangements with some Foreign Countries and process of recovering of the money has started. 34000 crores have already been recovered. 15000 crores are coming soon. Government hs also stopped 36000 crores going outside the country.

I will heartily support Baba if he will fight against Corruption as a whole. But never if he will fight against a single Party.
Because then it will not be impartial.

Why are corrupt Indian law breakers never punished?

The recent scams in India have opened up a new debate over the loopholes in our constitution. Over the past year the Common Wealth Games, Nira Radia case, Central Vigilance Commissioner, P.J. Thomas’s involvement in Palmolein oil import and the Adarsh Housing scam - are all cases of how corruption has seeped the innards of our society.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh introduced the idea of New Economic Policy in 1991 to safeguard the economy and develop the financial system in India by liberalization, privatization and globalization.

Unfortunately, this has led the present law makers to become law breakers. Now privatization has become via media for the corporate world to benefit. As a result, politicians and businessmen have become puppets of each other.

From being a mixed economy, India is now moving towards being a capitalist country. Every government has a back-up of the corporate world. It reached its peak with the outburst of the Radia tapes.

Corruption is the child of privatization. Radia case was one of its kind where people from almost every walk of life including politicians, journalists, government officers and corporate were involved. A. Raja has already been arrested and CBI investigations are going on. Government has denied the establishment of a Joint parliament committee (JPC).

Whereas, opposition parties had demanded the setting up of JPC and still UPA has not take any measures for its implementation.

Even independent authorities like the Central Vigilance Commission are not really taking corruption head on. CVC Commissioner, P. J. Thomas was asked by the Supreme Court to resign from his post after his involvement in the import of palmolien oil. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also demanded for his removal.

In a very surprising consequential event, P. J Thomas demanded the resignation of 153 members of parliament who have corruption charges against them. He was ready to resign only if the palmolein oil import case charged against him would be withdrawn.

It has always been like a ritual in this country where extreme conditions are only faced by poor people. 2,500 tribals and farmers have been arrested in the Vedanta case but it is very strange that no official of Vedanta has been caught. Injustice finds itself again with these people who are poor and cannot afford a hire a good lawyer.

Journalism is the fourth pillar in democracy but the corporate world has started influenced media coverage and media decision. These days it’s like every political party has a journalist representative and indirectly those journalists become a part of the political system, like the corporate world.

So the question arises who is running the country and whether it is being competently run at all.

Sadly, no one can he held responsible because our constitution tends to protect the executive and the legislature.

On one hand a single page of charge sheet changed the face of the Rajiv Gandhi government. Today, a charge sheet of more than 5,000 pages still awaits action against the people involved in the Radia case. The UPA government has not been taking effective action and enforcing stringent measures against any of the corruption cases brought to light in its rule.

The dynasty and its slaves are at it again

Young prince Rahul Gandhi was in the south of France for his birthday in 2009. This was fine because after all those visit to dalit huts with no electricity he preferred to be in more glamorous climes. His party men and women did the requisite obeisance and celebrated by arranging feasts for dalits all over the UP in the name of the Prince. In Chennai Congress party members adoringly poured milk over large colored portraits of the prince to wish him happy birthday. This sort of nonsense used to go on before the Emergency when everyone fell over themselves in singing ‘Indira is India’ and building temples in her name. No matter how much the prince may say he wants to change his party to a more democratic rather than dynastic mode, it can never happen as long as he chooses abroad while minions in his party grovel in India celebrating with their noses in the mud. Let us see whether he publicly chastises such ridiculous behavior and punishes the people who arranged such programmes or pretends he does not know anything about it.