Ramdev protest: Sonia, Manmohan’s naivete backfires

The UPA’s woes with Ramdev started with the Congress’ new tactic: dealing directly with civil society members to prove that the party is transparent when it comes to fighting corruption through measures like the Lokpal Bill and retrieving black money stashed in foreign banks.

But Congress leaders did not realise that civil society members could be troublesome or ambitious as it turned out with Ramdev, and as it was turning out to be the case with Anna Hazare.

The Congress had entered totally uncharted territory and it burnt its fingers. BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s taunt that this government was ‘too clever by half’ rang true. Jaitley also did not hide his anger at the UPA government for choosing to deal directly with Hazare and Ramdev on the issue of corruption and black money while ignoring the main opposition party.

When Hazare started his fast, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi sent him a letter asking him to withdraw his fast and promising him that the UPA was serious in fighting corruption.  

When Ramdev announced his fast, prime minister Manmohan Singh sent him a letter and followed it up by sending four senior ministers, including finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, to meet him at the Delhi airport in order to persuade him to back down. On Friday, a government team, led by human resources development minister Kapil Sibal, held a marathon meeting with the yoga guru in a Delhi hotel.

The negotiations were not above board, with both sides trying to play truant. The result: a midnight raid at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday and the forceful eviction of Ramdev and his followers.
Both the prime minister and the Congress president wanted to play the anti-corruption card as honestly as possible. But when it became a political bargain, they had no room to retreat.

Critics say the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Gandhi is at the root of the meddlesome civil society activists interfering in the business of making laws and governance. Once the UPA and the Congress started walking on this slippery ground, they did not know how to steady themselves.

Both Singh and Gandhi have good intentions but they do not have political experience. And this inexperience has created the mess in the engagement with civil society members.

Political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, are fighting to regain lost ground. Unfortunately, all political parties want to use civil society groups against each other. The BJP does not shun Ramdev but maintains a measured distance with him and the party has made it clear that it dislikes Hazare.

The Congress wanted to use Hazare and Ramdev to undermine the BJP as well as the RSS. In the game, the civil society members want to play on their own terms. The ultimate fallout: the Indian democracy is being undermined and the people of India are the losers.