Haridwar: With the CBI tightening its noose
around Balkrishna charging him with cheating and forgery, yoga
guru Ramdev on Thursday defended his closest aide, claiming that he
is currently in Haridwar and his documents are not forged.
"Acharya Balkrishna has not gone anywhere. He is very
much here. He is very much in Patanjali Ashram," Ramdev said
at a hurriedly convened press conference here.
Accusing the Centre of going soft on terrorists, the
yoga teacher wondered why it was targeting Balkrishna.
"Instead of focusing on black money and corruption, the
Centre is diverting all its energy on running a malicious
campaign against Baba (Ramdev) and Acharya Balkrishna," he
said.
When repeatedly asked why Balkrishna was not appearing
before the CBI, Ramdev said he has a lot of "great work" to
do.
"He (BalKrishna) is not having one work only. He is
giving guidance to crores of people in Ayurveda. His
contribution to Ayurveda is immense," Ramdev said.
On Balkrishna seeking 20 days' time to appear before the
CBI, the yoga guru said, "We understand that CBI must give us
this much time."
Balkrishna today sought 20 days' time to appear before
the CBI for questioning in a case under the Passport Act,
claiming he has applied for a UK visa and his travel document
is with that mission.
On two birth certificates of Balkrishna, Ramdev said the
first certificate had erroneously shown the nationality of
parents of Balkrishna as Indian.
However, later, this mistake was corrected and the
nationality was rightly shown as Nepalese, he said.
The yoga guru also wanted to know on what basis the CBI
had issued a lookout notice and wanted cancellation of
Balkrishna's passport when the investigations have not yet
been completed and chargesheet is yet to be filed.
He also said Balkrishna was born in India and will
remain in India till his last breath.
He also asked the media not to present Balkrishna as a
criminal.
"Mere charges will not make him (Balkrishna) a criminal.
Media should be careful," he said.
Ramdev also said he is not scared of anything and
reiterated his threat to raise a force of 12000 youths to
launch a renewed campaign against corruption and black money.
"We will launch a renewed campaign from August 15," he
said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 28, 2011, 21:46