Baba Ramdev launched his indefinite fast against corruption and black money on Saturday morning after the government failed to persuade him to call off his protest.

The yoga guru began the protest along with thousands of his followers at the Ramlila maidan here as he was joined by Swami Sadhavi Ritambhara and other religious leaders from the Sikh, Jain and Muslim communities.

Before launching the fast, Ramdev held a yoga and 'bhajan' session during which he told the gathering that the protest was intended to save the country from corruption and ensure that the poor get a good life.

"Nothing is impossible, everything is possible and we are not going to be defeated," the saffron-clad Baba seated on on an elevated platform, told the gathering, referring to bringing back of black money stashed in tax havens abroad.Deciding to go ahead with his fast against corruption and black money, Baba Ramdev held 'bhajans' and yoga sessions here early Saturday amidst thousands of his supporters.

With the talks between him and the government failing to reach any breakthrough yesterday, the yoga guru held 'bhajans' in the wee hours today followed by yoga sessions even as his associates kept announcing the participation of various religious leaders in the stir.

Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay had held a marathon meeting yesterday with Ramdev to persuade him to not go ahead with his indefinite fast. However, the talks failed to reach any breakthrough with the yoga guru insisting that all his demands be met with completely.

Seated on an elevated platform, the saffron-clad Baba delivered a speech at the the sprawling Ramlila ground here, which saw people from across the city descending to the site.

Earlier report:

After a five-hour marathon meeting on Friday, the government and Baba Ramdev failed to reach a compromise on the demands raised by the yoga guru, who said he will launch his indefinite fast on Saturday as planned.

Emerging from the meeting at Claridges hotel, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said the two sides had constructive dialogue on several matters and they are very happy with the progress but these issues cannot be resolved in a day.

"We have yet not reached a compromise and I will sit on fast (from tomorrow)," Ramdev said after his meeting with Sibal and and Subodh Kant Sahai.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also briefed President Pratibha Patil on the deliberations.

Sibal said the government has responded positively to the Baba's suggestions and hoped that Ramdev will do "what is right".

Earlier report:

Top Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday  discussed yoga guru Ramdev's proposed hunger strike from Saturday even as back-channel efforts were underway to persuade him not to go ahead with his protest.

As Ramdev remained adamant on undertaking the fast, the Congress Core Group discussed ways to defuse the situation and prevent the recurrence of events that unfolded when civil activist Anna Hazare went on fast-unto-death in April.

Besides Gandhi and Singh, those who attended the meeting were Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Defence Minister A K Antony, sources said.

The meeting took place even as informal back-channel efforts were underway between the government and those close to Ramdev to persuade him not to go ahead with the proposed agitation, the sources said.

Earlier report:

Nobody does anulom vilom pranayam quite like Baba Ramdev. Now, it seems, nobody makes the union cabinet do anulom vilom quite like Baba Ramdev. Four senior ministers and the cabinet secretary waited breathlessly at the Delhi airport for the Baba to arrive from Ujjain on Wednesday.

The trick, as the Baba would have surely reminded them upon landing, is to keep breathing. However, irregulars as the prime minister's men appeared to be, they seemed like headless chickens. Times Now television channel reported that the prime minister's office had distanced itself from this makeshift yoga camp.

So, these four were perhaps not the prime minister's men and were rather the finance minister's men because the finance minister led the team that comprised HRD minister Kapil Sibal, parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal, tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay and cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekar as well. Of course, the prime minister had deputed Mukherjee in the first place to dissuade the Baba from going ahead with his fast at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.

But the prime minister remained a distant figure, if only literally. Saving his breath, perhaps, for the unfolding drama.

For his part, the prime minister had already written a letter to the Baba "welcoming his constructive suggestions to improve governance" and urged him not to go ahead with his hunger strike, promising him to find a "practical and pragmatic" solution to tackle the issue of corruption.

Despite the government's efforts, though, the Baba said he was firm on going ahead with his planned indefinite fast against corruption from June 4.

What's more, a day after stating that the prime minister and chief justice of India should not be brought under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal Bill, the Baba said he did not make such a statement.

"I did not say that the proposed Lokpal Bill should not cover the prime minister and CJI as their posts are highly dignified," Ramdev told reporters after ending his one lakh km Bharat Swabhiman Yatra here.

"Keeping the PM and CJI out of the Lokpal's ambit was never my personal opinion," he said, adding that there were talks in the public that these posts should not come under the ambit of Lokpal bill.

Ramdev said in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district yesterday that the prime minister and CJI should not come under the ambit of Lokpal given that these posts were highly dignified.

Baba also praised the CJI, saying that the judiciary in the country was very active.

When asked to comment on Anna Hazare's statement praising the prime minister, he said he was not a spokesman of the anti-graft crusader. "We are companions," he said.

He said that even though the government representatives were urging him to put off his proposed fast, he would go ahead with the fast. A meeting of our people is taking place over the fast in Delhi, he said.

"I want that the huge black money stashed in foreign banks should be brought back to India. I want to free the country of corruption", he said.

Postscript:

Meanwhile, an SMS doing rounds is trying to garner support for Ramdev. '44 lacs people have registered for Bhrashtachar Mitao Satyagrah with Swami Ramdev so far. What about you? Give miss call on 02233081122 toll free', it reads.

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Govt seeks to show some action to placate Baba

Says the overdrive to check black money is yielding results

Amid the threat of yoga guru Baba Ramdev to go on hunger strike on the issue of black money from June 4, the government today said the series of steps taken by it to unearth unaccounted wealth have started yielding results.

The income tax department, sources said, has detected unaccounted income of Rs 18,750 crore in the last two financial years and collected an additional Rs 22,697 crore as taxes by stepping up vigil on cross border transactions.

Besides, they added, the government detected mis-pricing of goods to the tune of Rs 33,784 crore in the last two years.

Called as transfer pricing in tax parlance, the mis-pricing has emerged as the main method of transferring illicit funds outside the country.

The success achieved in checking the menace of black money, sources said, can be attributed to the focused strategy adopted by the finance ministry.

The focus of the strategy includes stopping the transfer of funds to other countries; better realisation of taxes through special attention to cross broader transactions; unearthing the black money in the country and enhanced flow of information from foreign jurisdictions.

The income tax department, sources further said, has collected 7,704 pieces of information related to tax evasion and money laundering from different countries and is going ahead with investigations.

Meanwhile, senior ministers are trying to persuade Yoga Guru Ramdev not to go on hunger strike as the government is already taking steps to curb the menace of black money.

Referring to information received in respect of LGT Bank of Liechtenstien from Germany, sources said, the government has already launched prosecution proceedings against several individuals and raised a tax demand of Rs 75.86 crore.

Besides, the government has made 175 requests to seek specific information about tax payers from the countries with whom India had signed tax treaties.

Pointing out that generation and detection of black money is a on-going process, sources said, the government has adopted a five-pronged strategy to deal with the issue.

The elements of the strategy include joining global crusade against black money, creating an appropriate legislative framework, setting up of institutions to deal with illicit funds, developing systems and imparting skills to officers for effective action.

As part of the drive, the government had also constituted a committee under Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman to examine legal and administrative framework and suggest steps to strengthen laws to curb generation of black money.

It has also set up Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to deal with tax crimes related to illegal activities.

The other important initiatives include commissioning of a study by economic think-tanks to estimate the quantum of black money held within and outside the country. The estimates of such funds range from USD 500 billion to USD 1,400 billion.

The study, to be undertaken jointly by NCAER, NIPFP and NIFM, will also suggest steps to bring back unaccounted money kept outside the country.

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Trinamool takes a dig at Cabinet ministers over Baba Ramdev

UPA constituent Trinamool Congress today took a dig at four senior minister rushing to the airport to meet Baba Ramdev, who has threatened to go on a fast on the issue of black money and corruption, while turning a blind eye to the poor.

"Here is a person who comes in his jet plane, lands at Delhi airport and almost the entire Cabinet goes. Why do they go?" Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi asked during an event organised by industry chamber FICCI.

Trivedi, the Trinamool Congress representative in the government, said undue importance has been given to the yoga guru, while the poor who suffer from hunger are being ignored.

"....we have got one out of four hungry in India. We are not bothered about these hungry people, but we are concerned about somebody who is going to go hungry for three days," he said.