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Ramdev booked, parties demand action for ‘anti-dalit’ remarks

Yoga guru Ramdev was on Saturday booked by Uttar Pradesh police for his controversial remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi that drew flak from various quarters with Congress demanding that he give a public apology as he had insulted dalits.

“An FIR has been lodged against Baba Ramdev at Mahanagar police station under relevant section of section 171(g) IPC (false statement in connection with an election),” additional superintendent of police Habibul Hassan said.

The FIR was lodged by police after analysing video clipping of Ramdev’s statement made on Friday.

Ramdev, who has been supporting BJP, on Friday alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi goes to the houses of dalits “for honeymoon and picnic”.

“He goes to dalits house for honeymoon and picnic. Had he married a dalit girl, then his luck could have clicked and he would have become the prime minister,” Ramdev had said here.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Saturday slammed Ramdev’s remarks as “anti-dalit”.

“Ramdev’s remark is anti Dalit. He must publicly apologise.”

“We would like Narendra Modi and BJP to react to Ramdev’s anti-Dalit remark,” Singh said on Twitter. CPM too demanded prosecution of Ramdev under the SC/ST Act for his “uncivilised statements” against dalit women and charged him with demeaning dalit women.It also asked the Election Commission to take suo motu notice of his “outrageous comments and take appropriate action”.

BSP workers and activists of dalit organisations staged demonstration at several places against Ramdev’s remarks and demanded action against him. In Phagwara, Punjab protesters blocked traffic on national highway 1 and burnt effiges.

Ramdev had said unlike Rahul, Narendra Modi and Ramdev have not become fakir under compulsion.

Us bechare ki bhi kismat kharab hai (Rahul is unlucky)”, Ramdev had said.

“His (Rahul’s) mother says that if you marry a foreigner girl, then you cannot become the PM and this boy does not want to marry an Indian girl. His mother wants that first he becomes the PM and then marry a foreigner,” he had added.

Later, in a damage-control exercise, Ramdev claimed he did not make the remarks in a negative sense and was willing to withdraw them if they have hurt the dalit sentiments.

Meanwhile, a day after his comment on Rahul Gandhi visiting Dalit homes for his “honeymoon” sparked outrage, Baba Ramdev on Saturday apologised and said he was misinterpreted, even as a police complaint was filed against the yoga guru in Lucknow. “I did not mean to insult Rahul Gandhi or Dalits. Rahul Gandhi indulges in publicity with photos of him sitting in homes of Dalits. If my statement hurt the Dalits, I regret it,” Ramdev said on Saturday.