New Delhi, Aug 13: Congress today alleged that Ramdev and Team Anna were hand in glove with BJP-led NDA and the masks have now fallen with their open support to the yoga guru's agitation on black money issue.
Asked why Congress had not reacted to Ramdev's call on blackmoney, Congress media department chief Janardhan Dwivedi said, “It is true that we did not say anything as we cannot speak their language or behave like them. And now it is out in the open how politics is being done in a different guise.
“You would recall that a few years ago there used to be a lot of discussion about masks in politics. The country has seen today that the masks have fallen and the real faces have been revealed.”
Dwivedi was referring to BJP President Nitin Gadkari and NDA Convenor Sharad Yadav addressing Ramdev's supporters at their rally at Ramlila grounds today and expressing their support to him.
Referring to Team Anna, he said, “What kind of a fight and whose fight this is, is also becoming clear. Their other partners, who had announced the formation of a party, have said in their private conversations that they will not contest in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Which face is this?” Dwivedi said that they have said they will not contest in Gujarat and Himachal but will fight in other places and will oppose the Congress.
Referring to Gadkari and Yadav, Dwivedi said, “BJP President and NDA Convenor have gone there and they (Ramdev's supporters) say they have no relationship with political parties. Hence, I am saying the masks are out.”
Dwivedi alleged that Ramdev and civil society activists were not agitating to bring back Indian black money stashed abroad but only trying to protect the black money inside the country.
Hence this fight is not about black money, he said.
“The whole country knows a White Paper has come out on black money. The Finance Minister has made a statement. Steps are being taken and will be taken in future,” he said.
He maintained that everybody is concerned about the black money issue. “But here the problem is that bringing back this money from abroad is not the issue and they are doing all this to protect the black money inside the country,” Dwivedi said.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Dwivedi said that one should be doing politics from the front and not from behind the curtains.
“One should fight on issues directly. This politics of deception should come to an end. Now all the faces behind this agitation have come out,” he said.
Dwivedi said that the government is concerned about the black money issue and “nobody can claim that he alone is concerned over it”.
The government will tell the people about the steps being taken to bring back the black money , the Congress leader said.
Another senior leader in the party said that the Congress will face this challenge directly and go to the people on the issue as “such anti-Congressism is not new to us”.
Though Congress has so far not made any remark against the former Army Chief General V K Singh sharing the dais with Ramdev during the agitation against black money, sources said that the party views the step as “wrong”. “Every one is free to fight elections but not in this manner,” a leader said.
