<p>The violent action taken by the UPA government to break up Baba Ramdev and his supporters’ fast against corruption in Delhi is highly condemnable. No doubt, the government could well argue that the high-pitch drama that Ramdev put up at the Ram Lila ground had to be dealt with a heavy hand to prevent an anarchic situation deteriorating further. But the Manmohan Singh government has no one but itself to blame for allowing the debate on the question of black money and corruption in high places into a street-fight by its obdurate and insensitive stand on the whole issue. Even at this late stage, if the UPA government has not realised that it cannot simply brush under the carpet the demand for cleansing public life with some concrete action, it will be digging its own grave.<br /><br />The civil society movement led by Anna Hazare which triggered the current unrest with a powerful pan-India agitation for a credible institution of Lokpal provided the government an opportunity to demonstrate that it was serious about reining in corruption which has reached monstrous proportions. But the way the proceedings of the drafting committee on Lokpal have gone and the diabolical game the ministers on the committee have indulged in to sabotage the whole exercise has convinced everyone that this government has no intention to deal with the problem seriously. When Ramdev announced his decision to go on a fast demanding the unearthing of black money, but disagreed with the civil society members on the inclusion of the prime minister and the judiciary under the ambit of the Lokpal, the government saw an opportunity to exploit the divisions and play politics.<br /><br />Unlike the civil society members, Ramdev is a popular figure with considerable following across the country. He is also politically ambitious. Some of his demands were outrageous, but if the government thought it could waylay the core issue of corruption by showing him up to be a maverick, it was sadly mistaken. By breaking up Ramdev and his supporters’ high-decibel drama in a midnight operation, the government may have earned a temporary reprieve, but it has unleashed more anger in the country. In the next few days, it will have to come up with a credible action plan to deal with corruption, as otherwise, it will be inviting the kind of anarchy this country has not seen so far.</p>
<p>The violent action taken by the UPA government to break up Baba Ramdev and his supporters’ fast against corruption in Delhi is highly condemnable. No doubt, the government could well argue that the high-pitch drama that Ramdev put up at the Ram Lila ground had to be dealt with a heavy hand to prevent an anarchic situation deteriorating further. But the Manmohan Singh government has no one but itself to blame for allowing the debate on the question of black money and corruption in high places into a street-fight by its obdurate and insensitive stand on the whole issue. Even at this late stage, if the UPA government has not realised that it cannot simply brush under the carpet the demand for cleansing public life with some concrete action, it will be digging its own grave.<br /><br />The civil society movement led by Anna Hazare which triggered the current unrest with a powerful pan-India agitation for a credible institution of Lokpal provided the government an opportunity to demonstrate that it was serious about reining in corruption which has reached monstrous proportions. But the way the proceedings of the drafting committee on Lokpal have gone and the diabolical game the ministers on the committee have indulged in to sabotage the whole exercise has convinced everyone that this government has no intention to deal with the problem seriously. When Ramdev announced his decision to go on a fast demanding the unearthing of black money, but disagreed with the civil society members on the inclusion of the prime minister and the judiciary under the ambit of the Lokpal, the government saw an opportunity to exploit the divisions and play politics.<br /><br />Unlike the civil society members, Ramdev is a popular figure with considerable following across the country. He is also politically ambitious. Some of his demands were outrageous, but if the government thought it could waylay the core issue of corruption by showing him up to be a maverick, it was sadly mistaken. By breaking up Ramdev and his supporters’ high-decibel drama in a midnight operation, the government may have earned a temporary reprieve, but it has unleashed more anger in the country. In the next few days, it will have to come up with a credible action plan to deal with corruption, as otherwise, it will be inviting the kind of anarchy this country has not seen so far.</p>