Baba, Anna Give Jitters to UPA Government

With Baba Ramdev refusing to call off his plans to go on an indefinite hunger strike against corruption from Saturday, the government is already in jitters. Now adding to its wooes, Anna Hazare announced that he would be joining Baba Ramdev hunger strike from 5 June.

Despite government's assurances on its seriousness of tackling corruption and black money, Ramdev has said he will go ahead with fast at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. He is insisting on concrete measures. His plans have put the government in a spot as he claims crores of people will join his 'satyagraha' against corruption.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay met Baba Ramdev for over two hours at the Delhi airport yesterday. The leaders briefed the PM on their discussions with Ramdev and are also understood to have discussed his proposals and ways to defuse the crisis. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too held an emergency meeting with senior Cabinet ministers last night to discuss how to deal with the yoga guru.

The government clearly worried, doesn't want a repeat of an anti-corruption fast similar to that of Anna Hazare, which had galvanized thousands of people forcing the government to give in to his demands. According to sources, a team of Cabinet ministers will also meet him again to break the deadlock.