New Delhi:  Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has said he will go ahead with his hunger strike against corruption from June 4 despite the government’s appeal asking him to reconsider his plan.
“My hunger strike will go ahead. There is no question of calling off the protest plan till my demands are met and till talks reach a satisfactory conclusion,” Baba Ramdev said in Madhya Pradesh, where he is conducting a yoga camp.
Baba Ramdev had earlier said he will start a ‘satyagraha’ against corruption and black money and go on an indefinite fast from June 4, demanding that the government bring back black money stashed in tax havens abroad.
Over 32 lakh netizens are believed to have registered online for Baba Ramdev’s anti-corruption campaign.
With civil society activists building pressure on the government over the corruption issue, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) met in New Delhi yesterday to discuss the matter.
Sources say the government, after facing a difficult situation created by Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death last month, is keen to avoid recurrence of such a situation.
The two-hour meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is believed to have deliberated on ways that could be adopted to deal with the matter.
The Cabinet has also decided to set up a fresh panel to draw an estimate of the black money parked in foreign shores.
The CCPA meeting, among other things, is understood to have also discussed the possibility of deputing some minister to talk to Ramdev and persuade him not to go ahead with his hunger strike.
Earlier, the government had deputed Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sudhir Chandra to persuade him but the effort failed.