Blackening democracy

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Updated: Feb 03, 2012, 13:02 PM IST

Showing aggression to famous personalities has become a trend, be it Sharad Pawar’s slapping incident or Prashant Bhushan being beaten up or the recent the ink attack on yoga guru Baba Ramdev, people find it an easy way to vent their anger.
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As it is fast becoming a common phenomenon for individuals to blatantly commit such crimes for cheap publicity, the government needs to act firmly against culprits.
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Ramdev, who was addressing a press conference on his plans for upcoming election in five states, was attacked by a youth who threw black ink on his face.
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The attacker was a petitioner in Batla House encounter. When he was probed by the media about his anger, the attacker stated that he wanted Ramdev to ‘react’ on J&K issue. The question here is why is a Yoga Guru’s view on J&K important? Why did he have to use ink to show protest? Was this a staged event?
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Along with Team Anna, Ramdev is spearheading a campaign to bring back the black money stashed in foreign lands. The black ink failed to make any deep impact on the bearded face of the yoga guru.
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In-turn, Baba’s supporters caught the attacker and bashed him before police took him away which I feel is another attack on democracy, which too is illegal. I wonder why Ramdev’s supporters took the law in their hands? Supporting and following a Yoga Guru doesn’t mean that they should take the law in their hands and beat him up so brutally, instead, they should have left it to the police to handle the guy and let law take its own course. I now believe that people have lost faith in justice system and prefer to mete out punishment themselves.
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Then there is also the conspiracy angle that comes in mind, especially when the religious card seems to be getting prominence in UP elections.
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Meanwhile, it is possible that there may be some people who did not want Ramdev’s presence in Delhi and were trying to portray him as anti-Muslim!
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The Yoga guru took a deep breath, and said he was not deterred by such attacks and would continue his campaign with full force against corruption. Ramdev, later accused the Congress of conspiring against him to derail his fight against black money and corruption.
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The ruling Congress party, some of whose leaders have been at the receiving end with shoes being hurled at them, has unequivocally condemned the black 'ink attack' on Baba Ramdev, as have the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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Meanwhile, in another incident, few youngsters waved black flags at Rahul Gandhi`s rallies in Bundelkhand and Charkhari. The black banner the protestors had hoisted read: “Kaale dhan ko wapas lao” (bring back the black money stashed abroad). Congress workers soon overpowered the protestors and handed them over to the local police.
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Some say people do such things for cheap publicity, some say that the entire incident was planned to divert attention from the black money issue. But my question is, how do such acts help? They create more bad blood than prove a point. And probably, also attempt to blacken our democracy?