was dealt with tear-gas, lathicharge and brickbats (even if a minute section of the people tried to stop police personnel with stone-pelting), yesterday's shocking episode would be one of the most heinous acts in the history of Independent India..
This is certainly not the way to deal with a nonviolent protest no matter how threatening the verbal aggression was perceived from Ramdev's platform. He was certainly not instigating his audience to violence.
According to reports, even at 11:30pm, some negotiations were on, with the government sending the second draft, modified, of the day. And there was an impression too that the hunger-strike would be called at 12 noon today.
What happened in the next 2 hrs with an emergency cabinet meeting at the highest level, that the govt decided to act suddenly and in the middle of the night? The Delhi police's official version is that official permission for a hunger-strike was not sought by Ramdev and co. Does that necessitate a sudden crackdown at midnight so much so that many, including women and old people were physically beaten up, and tear-gas was used?
First you give a suspiciously regal VVIP reception with 4 cabinet ministers present at the airport. You negotiate for 2 days meekly, including the first one in a 6-star hotel behind closed doors. And then within two hours of forwarding a modified draft-proposal -- the second of the day, you twist your policy of negotiation right around on its head, put on iron gloves, and crack down on an unarmed peaceful crowd, to negate the hunger-strike of the 'opponent' in issue, no matter who and what his issue is, how impractical his demands were?
This is certainly not democratic governance.
It should explain its action to the entire country, and that has to accommodate a very strong reason to justify the way it decimated the opponent.
The endless political demonstrations and rallies, the ones really threatening and out-of-control, with goons blatantly conducting the show, the ones which make us more frustrated by the day, continue to take place, causing extreme discomfort to the common man. These are countered with kid-gloves, and shamelessly nonsensical political oneupsmanship. And peaceful, harmless women and old men are teargassed and lathicharged..
Fiercely condemnable and every citizen should protest actively.
Sent from my BlackBerry®Smartphone
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Dr.Anirban Chaudhuri M.B.B.S
Consultant Physician (special interest in
Cardiology&Critical Care)
Mumbai, India
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"It is important to just listen for a while instead of speaking." -- My teacher
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