Ramdev Discloses Assets, Claims Rs 249 Cr Spent in Charity
Haridwar, Jun 9 (IANS): With his multi-million business empire coming under the scanner, yoga guru Baba Ramdev Thursday declared his assets and vehemently defended his statement about creating a youth army to tackle any future police crackdown, even as he continued his fast against corruption for the sixth day.
At a press conference in Haridwar, Ramdev, who has packaged himself as an anti-corruption crusader, said that in tune with his "commitment to complete transparency," he was declaring on his website the financial details of his empire, whose turnover runs into millions of dollars. In a flourish, he said he had stolen people's hearts, not money.
Ramdev's close aide Acharya Balkrishna was quick to stand up for his guru, saying that the measure was meant to end a snowballing controversy on the matter. He declared that the total capital of different institutions associated with Ramdev is nearly Rs 426 crore, adding that Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust has spent Rs. 249 crore in charity and helping people during calamities.
"Some people have tried to spread rumours about the trust, so we thought we will end this matter once and for all," Blakrishna told reporters. He added that the assets of the trust were under government scrutiny already as they were declared to the Income Tax department every year.
"We give our account details to the Income Tax Department every year. Our trust's licence is renewed every two years... if there is any discrepancy in the accounts, the licence will not be renewed ," he said stressing that the system of running the trust and accounts is totally transparent.
The decision to declare the assets came after the government turned on the heat on Ramdev by threatening to probe his widespread business interests and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared his personal assets and asked his ministers to do the same. The details of assets of the prime minister as well as some ministers have already been put on the PMO website.
In yet another well-thought out strategy to offset the criticism about his remarks about creating an army of young people, Ramdev said: "I am not training Naxals or Maoists but people who will fight for this country. Twenty youths from each region (of the country) will come forward for the fight against corruption," he said.
In a statement released in New Delhi, Ramdev clarified that a force of 11,000 people he intended to build would not be an armed force but a group of "non-violent nationalist youths" capable of defending themselves and people from corruption and the evil system.
The yoga guru blamed the media for creating confusion.
Ramdev's announcement Wednesday that "dedicated young men and women will be imparted 'shaastra' (vedic education) and 'shastra' (arms training)" provoked Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to say that Ramdev had "exposed his true colours and intentions". "Let him do so, and the law will deal with that," he said.
His health, however, remained a matter of concern. "He is not going to break his fast. I have asked him to take lemon juice and honey and he has complied. He will take it in the evening," R. Meenakshi Sundaram, District Magistrate of Haridwar, told IANS over phone. "His condition has worsened. So, we requested him," he added.
However, the official said if there was a threat to his life, the authorities won't shy away from forcibly giving him glucose.