Anti-Corruption Rally

Arvind was organizing an anti-corruption rally and march. He got a call from this religious guru offering his support. His name is Baba Ramdev. He teaches yoga and meditation on his own TV channel. He has a huge following. He had started a crusade against corruption about six weeks back and now wants to join forces with Arvind.

I took an auto-rickshaw to the Jantar-Mantar, an area near Connaught Place, the main drag of Delhi. When I was about to get out, the rickshaw driver asked me if I was going to the rally of Baba Ramdev! I knew it was going to be big if the rickshawalla knows about it.

There was a sea of people. I estimated the crowd to be about 15,000. They had come to see and hear Babaji. The rally was good. It was quite an experience to see people in bright colors, waving placards and shouting slogans.

There were about seven or eight speakers. All of the speakers were good. They had the Head of the Islam Society as well as the Bishop of Delhi. It was first time the Bishop had come out in any political rally. The Muslim (Moslem) leader was a firebrand speaker. He got the most applause. Babaji was a very good speaker as well.

Looks like the anti-corruption crusade is moving forward. The corruption in the Common Wealth Games (CWG) was so rampant that I think it is possible that some effective anti-corruption legislation might get passed.