Ramdev's fast one

Going one-up on Anna Hazare

Whatever Anna Hazare can do, Baba Ramdev can do better, or so the latter believes. The yoga guru has decided to emulate him from June 4 in New Delhi to force the Central Government to bring black money stashed away in Swiss banks. He must be hoping that the large number of people who rose in support of Hazare would back him also with the same vim and vigour. If he could throw in yoga lessons also, perhaps he can prove to be an even bigger crowd puller. The methods suggested by Ramdev for eradicating corruption and black money are far more radical than those of Anna Hazare. He not only wants the Lok Pal to have the powers to award the death penalty to corrupt people but also to enforce a ban on currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination.

He has never hidden his political ambitions. Some politicians are bound to jump on to his bandwagon. The most interesting would be the reaction of Brinda Karat. Her allegations that the TV baba mixes human bones in the sundry churans that he makes had not really held ground. Her reaction to the satyagraha announcement would be quite a verbal treat — with a dash of cyanide perhaps.