Pune BJP backs Baba Ramdev

The anti-Vikas Mathkari faction of the city BJP has postponed its ‘Delhi Chalo’ trip to meet senior BJP leaders following the developments in Delhi involving Baba Ramdev.

The Delhi police during wee hours of Sunday swooped on the Ramlila Maidan where Ramdev had launched a hunger strike over the issue of black money, after cancelling the permission for his programme.

The anti-Mathkari faction on Sunday evening launched a sit-in agitation in the city to protest against the police action against Baba Ramdev.

State leadership of the BJP had recently appointed Mathkari as the party’s city president leading to a strong reaction among supporters of party leader Gopinath Munde.

The Munde faction had proposed the name of former city general secretary Yogesh Gogawale for the post. The faction claimed that it has the support of majority of local leaders when former national BJP president Venkaiah Naidu had assessed opinions in January this year in the city.

After Mathkari’s appointment, Gogawale had demanded that Naidu’s report be made public. He had challenged the appointment of Mathkari. Gogawale and his associates had decided to visit New Delhi to meet senior party leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Naidu and national BJP president Nitin Gadkari to demand justice.

Gogawale told DNA that about 42 senior local leaders of the party were to reach New Delhi on Sunday evening.

“But I received a call from party’s national general secretary Anant Kumar asking us to organise a sit-in agitation in Pune against the police action against Baba Ramdev,” he said. Accordingly, Gogawale and his associates started a 24-hour dharna at Veer Sawarkar memorial near Sarasbaug.

Gogawale said that Anant Kumar and Munde have assured them to consider their case after eight days.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of the BJP too launched a 24-hour agitation to protest against the eviction of Baba Ramdev, on Sunday at Ambedkar Chowk in Pimpri. The party expects more than 40,000 people to converge at the venue by Monday evening.

“We have passed on the message to our supporters and they are pouring in every minute,” said Eknath Pawar, president of the BJP’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit.