Baba Ramdev More Of A Businessman Than Sanyasi: Digvijay

MORADABAD (UP): Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh has attacked Baba Ramdev, who has threatened to go on an agitation on the issue of corruption, dubbing him more of a businessman than a 'sanyasi'.

"Even to teach yoga, he charges Rs 50,000 from those who sit in the front seats, Rs 30,000 for the backseat and Rs 1000 for the last seat. What else is this?" he said addressing a meeting.

The Congress general secretary said the party was not scared of Ramdev and is holding discussions with him.

"If Congress was scared, Ramdev would have been put behind bars. There is no fear that is why he is out in the open and there are discussions with him," he said.

The party has differed with the government's extraordinary step of rushing four senior ministers to the airport yesterday to talk to the yoga guru.

Congress sources said talks with Ramdev were fine but there was no need to send the ministers to the airport to meet him.

They also suggested that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not in the loop over the decision. "The party has nothing to do with it", they said.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, accompanied by Kapil Sibal, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Subodh Kant Sahay, held talks with Ramdev for over two hours at the airport yesterday when he arrived by a chartered jet from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

Singh had yesterday said, "We are also interested in the issue of corruption and black money but hunger strike won't check corruption or help bring back black money. He (Baba Ramdev) should agree to the request made by the Prime Minister and other ministers and give up his rigid stand."