By IANS,
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday defended the police crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters, saying it was “unfortunate” but the authorities had “no alternative”.The prime minister also told reporters on the sidelines of an event here that his government was “serious and concerned about corruption and black money”.
This was Manmohan Singh’s first public reaction since the Saturday midnight police action on Ramdev and his supporters at the Ramlila Ground here forced the yoga guru to quit Delhi and left many people injured.
In response to another question, the prime minister said there was no magic wand to end corruption.
“We are very serious about fighting corruption but there is no magic wand,” he said.
The crackdown on the yoga guru and his supporters, many of whom were sleeping, has attracted widespread criticism across the political spectrum. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) equated the police action to the Jallianwala Bagh attack during British rule.
Ramdev, who was fasting for tough laws against corruption and black money, had to flee New Delhi in the garb of a woman. He reached his ashram in Hardwar Sunday where he has continued his hunger strike.
The Congress has slammed Ramdev, calling him a “thug” and the mask of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).