Washington: Several scams have seriously
dented the image of Congress-led UPA government and positioned opposition BJP in better place for the 2014 elections, and by jailing Anna Hazare the government looked both "inept and
undemocratic", a Congressional report on India has said.
"By jailing Hazare, the government looked both inept and
undemocratic, and united a wide range of otherwise reluctant
actors in support of Hazare's movement," said Congressional
Research Service (CRS) in its latest report 'India: Domestic
Issues, Strategic Dynamics and US Relations,' which gives a
detailed account of the anti-corruption movement in India.
An independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress,
the CRS prepares periodic reports on issues of interest to the
US lawmakers.
The 94-page report was released by the CRS for US
lawmakers on September 1, a copy of which made public by the
Federation of American Scientists yesterday.
By the spring of 2011, negative emotions sparked by
months long revelations of high-level corruption reached the
point where mass public mobilisation could occur, the CRS
report said, adding two figures Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare
were notable in initiating this development.
"In early June, yoga guru Ramdev staged a major anti-
corruption protest in the Indian capital and launched his own
mass hunger strike to demand government action to recover
black money.
"That night, after apparently inaccurate reports that the
government had acceded to Ramdev's demands, hundreds of police
swept through the protesters, using tear gas and batons to
disperse them; at least 30 people were injured," the report
said, adding critics accused the government of using
unnecessary force against peaceful protesters.
Government officials said that Ramdev's permit allowed
him only yoga and not a political demonstration; police said
that permit was for a maximum of 5,000 attendees and some
40,000-60,000 showed up, the report said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 10:41