Guwahati: Yoga guru and anti-corruption activist Baba Ramdev on Thursday claimed that "there are no foreign hands" behind the massive rise of Maoist and ultra-left forces in the country.
Talking to reporters here during his trip to Assam, Ramdev said: "The main reasons for rise of these forces (Maoists) was due to massive corruption in the government and bureaucracy".
Alleging that the mineral resources of the country was being "looted" by the corporate sector, Ramdev said he will protest against building of big dams on the Ganga as well as the Brahmaputra.
"There are plans to build 148 big dams in the Brahmaputra which will ruin the majestic Brahmaputra river which is the lifeline of the people of North East. If Ganga is our mother, then the Brahmaputra is our father," he said.
"Over 2.5 crore are directly dependent on the Brahmaputra. We are not against the attempt to harness energy for generating electricity but that should not lead to destruction of nature and civilisation," he added.
Describing Congress as a directionless party, Ramdev said the Centre was trying to derail the proposed protest against black money and illicit hoarding of wealth overseas on August 9.
"We will not allow this to happen," he said.
Ramdev, who arrived in Guwahati this morning, met his followers in the city and also held a meeting with Team Anna member and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi.
He also condemned the recent attack in Gogoi by a group of Youth Congress workers last week at Nalbari.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 20:47