Naveen backs Ramdev in crusade against black money

A day after being assured of support of Samajwadi party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in his campaign against black money stashed in foreign banks, yoga guru Swami Ramdev has drawn further strength for his anti-graft movement, with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik pledging support to his cause.

“The chief minister has consented to back me in the campaign against black money. He also told me that his government has taken stern action against ministers facing graft charges in the past and will not hesitate to repeat such action in the future,” Ramdev told the media after meeting the chief minister.

Stating that many politicians, bureaucrats and corporate bigwigs have accumulated black money, the yoga guru pointed out that such people need to be brought to the book.

“I am meeting chiefs of all political parties to solicit their support for our crusade against corruption and black money. The country would secure economic autonomy for itself if black money stashed in foreign banks is brought back,” he added.

The money so retrieved could also fund a slew of development programmes and poverty alleviation schemes in the country, he opined.

The seer also raised concern over spiraling prices of essential commodities that had hit the masses hard, stating corrective measures need to be taken to mitigate their plight.