Government and Negotiations with Baba Ramdev

<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Countdown-in-the-Baba-bungle/799834/>Countdown
in the Baba bungle
*Swaraj Thapa <http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/swarajthapa/> , Shishir
Gupta <http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/shishir-gupta/> , Ritu
Sarin<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/ritusarin/>
**Mon Jun 06 2011New Delhi:

For 17 days, the government tried to negotiate with Baba Ramdev, beginning
with a letter written to him, in Hindi, by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
May 19 asking him to announce tyag (sacrifice) of his fast. The following
day, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee sent him a letter informing him about
some works in progress, like the drafting of the Lokpal Bill. The letter was
also aimed at getting the yoga guru to knock off certain items on his
wishlist.

"For suggestions such as imposition of death penalty for cases of corruption
or direct election to the post of Prime Minister, considerable public
opinion needs to be generated so as to successfully push through the
legislations or constitutional amendments," said Mukherjee's letter.

What followed during the next fortnight was an unprecedented appeasement
drive, with lengthy meetings in the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime
Minister's Office and subsequent conclaves with Ramdev himself — first at
Air India's VIP lounge at the Delhi Airport on June 1, then a meeting with
Ministers and Secretaries in North Block and finally, the marathon crisis
management session in a suite at the Claridges Hotel on June 3.

What the government's interlocutors — Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay —
say they firmly told Ramdev was that his demand for an ordinance on black
money could not be conceded. When they seemed to reach a consensus on a
number of demands, Ramdev, according to sources, gave his first assurance
that he would end the fast within three days.

In between, the Cabinet Secretariat instructed the concerned ministries to
prepare dossiers on the progress already made or underway on Ramdev's
demands. The dossiers, available with The Indian Express, show that the
Finance Ministry produced a detailed note on "action taken by the government
on the issue of black money''; the HRD Ministry presented an eight-point
report on steps taken to popularise the use of Hindi; and the Department of
Personnel and Training drafted a detailed statement on the ratification of
the UNCAC (United Nations Convention Against Corruption) listing provisions
in Indian laws.

All this was compiled in one folder and handed over to Ramdev at the
Claridges' meeting. In return, Ramdev was asked to announce at the hotel
itself that he would only hold a day-long "tapa" and then call off his
programme. However, Ramdev pleaded that this would render his programme
meaningless as many who were coming from outside Delhi would cancel their
travel. The government conceded to his request to put off the announcement
till the next day, following which he asserted on the evening of June 3 that
"99 per cent" of his demands had been met.

The six-hour long meeting, during which Sibal was in constant contact with
Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, ended only after Ramdev agreed to
give a written assurance. On this too, however, he put the onus on his
trusted aide, Acharya Balkrishan, saying that he never signed any papers.
The single-page note in Hindi was signed by Balkrishan, the PM was informed,
and Sibal hugged Ramdev, saying they could now celebrate.

But the next day, there were confusing signals from the Ramdev camp at
Ramlila Maidan. Sibal and Sahay had several telephonic conversations with
Ramdev and Balkrishan, but the yoga guru revived his conditions of
"time-bound" action, the ordinance and the missing items on his initial list
of demands.

It was at this juncture that Sibal and Sahay became convinced that Ramdev
was playing dirty. As the 4 pm deadline approached, Sibal again called up
Ramdev, asking him to make a formal announcement. When Ramdev again started
to dilly-dally, Sibal curtly told him that he would not make any more calls.
He extended the deadline by another hour, after which he went to Mukherjee's
office. Chidambaram was also there, and they began chalking out the strategy
for police action.

Around 5:40 pm, Chidambaram, who postponed his 4 pm flight to Chennai, held
a meeting with Home Secretary G K Pillai and Director, Intelligence Bureau,
Nehchal Sandhu.

Senior Delhi Police officials were then brought into the picture, and orders
issued for the cancellation of Ramdev's shivir. At around 6 pm, the tables
turned and it was Ramdev who began calling up Sibal and Sahay. Sibal took
the call just before he was to address the press conference at the PIB, told
Ramdev that he was announcing the government's commitment to have a law on
declaring black money as national assets and that he should fulfil his end
of the bargain by publicly withdrawing his fast. If he failed to do so, the
signed note would be made public, he warned.

The two ministers watched the live telecast in a PIB officer's room and when
Ramdev failed to call off his protest, Sibal made the note public.

After the breakdown, the government, as a last measure, dispatched a brief
"clarification'' to the Baba informing him that "the government is committed
to a legal structure through which wealth generated illegally is declared as
a national asset and that such assets are subject to confiscation.'' It
contained one final warning: "You have already publicly stated that upon
receiving this letter, you will end your tapa. We hope you will honour this
public communication forthwith."

The letter was handed to Ramdev at around 11 pm. With still no announcement
from Ramdev, the government gave the go-ahead for police action at 12.35 am.