Ending his five-day fast against corruption and black money, yoga guru
Baba Ramdev Tuesday attacked the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh for shielding the corrupt and said their movement would continue.
Ramdev broke his fast with lime juice given to him by two children.
"I
am ending the fast but the agitation will go on till our demands are
met," Ramdev told a huge gathering at the Ambedkar Stadium in central
Delhi where he and his supporters spent the night after being detained
by police.
They chose to stay on at the stadium even after police permitted them to leave Monday night.
Ramdev said he would go to Haridwar, Uttarkhand, and appealed to all his supporters to peacefully leave for their homes.
"The
prime minister's Independence Day speech must include response on black
money. He should give a solution to solve corruption and black money
problems, otherwise the country will hold him responsible too."
Directly
targeting Manmohan Singh, he said: "Why are you getting yourself
insulted; if you cannot bring back black money, then become a baba like
me. You come from Sikh community, and many Sikh gurus gave their lives
for noble cause. I request you to learn something from them and serve
the country."
Ramdev, who launched his agitation from Ramlila
Maidan Aug 9, said he had not been defeated. On the contrary, he had
become successful in bringing many political parties on board against
black money and corruption.
"Had there been voting in parliament
Monday on black money, the government would have fallen. We have got
support from party's supporting ruling alliance," he said.
Delhi
Police had appealed to Ramdev and the crowds to vacate the stadium due
to security reasons ahead of Independence Day celebrations. The stadium
falls in the route the prime minister would take on his way to the Red
Fort to unfurl the tricolour.
"If we had wanted, we could have
stopped the prime minister from hoisting the flag on Independence Day
but it is not a political event. Lakhs of freedom fighters have given
their lives to give us this independence and we salute it," he said,
asking his supporters to leave the stadium.
"We are not beggars,
we are asking for our rights. And if we don't get it, we will fight for
it," he said, as his supporters shouted slogans of "Vande Mataram" and
"Bharat mata ki jai".
Ramdev said the Congress was the most
corrupt party and not even one Congress member deserved to be elected in
the 2014 general elections.
"Tell people that the Congress is
responsible for making them poor. Congress is the most corrupt party and
its name should be written on the top of the list of corrupt," he said.
The yoga guru said he and his supporters would vote only for leaders who were willing to tackle black money and corruption.
Ramdev and his supporters were detained Monday while they were marching towards parliament and were shifted to Ambedkar Stadium.
Ramdev
is demanding the return of black money, a strong Lokpal Bill, and a
transparent process to name heads of the Central Bureau of Investigation
and the Election Commission.
On Saturday evening, he extended his three-day symbolic fast and threatened a "revolution" after the government failed to react.
