An Indian yoga guru on Tuesday ended a six-day hunger strike against corruption but vowed to use his public popularity to pile pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Baba Ramdev, a maverick "holy man" who heads a wealthy international yoga organisation, sipped juice to break his fast as several thousand supporters cheered him in New Delhi.
Ramdev had tried to lead an anti-corruption march to parliament on Monday but was corralled by police at a sports stadium in the Indian capital. The prime minister "should show political will and honesty, and if he does not show it, he will be deemed as corrupt", Ramdev, half naked and wearing saffron-coloured robes, told the crowds.
"If he cannot remain politically honest then he should leave the post," Ramdev said, claiming that the fast had achieved its aims and calling for the downfall of Singh's ruling Congress party at general elections due in 2014. "Next time in the elections, we should ensure that not a single Congress leader gets elected to parliament," he said.
Pranab Mukherjee, India's newly elected president, in a customary address on the eve of Independence Day, said he had sympathy with Ramdev's cause but warned against random protests.
"Anger against the bitter pandemic of corruption is legitimate, as is the protest against this plague that is eroding the capability and potential of our nation," he said, without referring to the yoga guru. "There are times when people lose their patience but it cannot become an excuse for an assault on our democratic institutions," said Mukherjee, who quit as finance minister in June to run for the largely ceremonial post. "When protest becomes endemic, we are flirting with chaos," he added.