New Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev on Friday demanded that Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal be immediately arrested over the allegations of sexual assault against him and appealed to the media to "boycott this criminal and characterless person".
"(The) person, who has been making `tehelka` in the country with news stories, has created a `tehelka` himself now. His real face and character has come in front of the world now.
"I would request media to boycott such type of criminal and characterless person. He should be immediately arrested and suitable punishment should be given to him," Ramdev told reporters here today.
Ramdev accused Tejpal of running several "defamatory" stories against him in the past and alleged that the Tehelka founder-editor had done so at the behest of Congress.
"He (Tejpal) has been after me for the last five years and published many defaming stories at the instance of Congress. He was not working independently like a journalist should.
"Tehelka published many editions on me and published stories with the same intention as Congress - character assassination," Ramdev alleged.
"I have taken an oath that I will not be the one to comment first on media and on saints and godmen, but if their wrongdoings come to the fore, what can one say," he added.
"Tehelka should publish the story of Tejpal`s misdeeds on the front page of the magazine. He should apologise to the country for his act and should recuse himself forever from journalism," Ramdev said. Meanwhile, Ramdev also slammed Aam Aadmi Party as it is caught in a row over a sting operation involving some of its leaders.
Talking about AAP in the wake of the sting operation, Ramdev said the party`s convener, Arvind Kejriwal, should clean his own house before sweeping corruption from other parties.
"If Kejriwal wants to save his political base, he should conduct an inquiry about the antecedents of the rest of (AAP`s) candidates as well.
"He wants inquiries into others` misdeeds in two days, but has given tickets to many tainted persons. So, the person who has been making claims of sweeping corruption with his "broom" should clean his house first," he said. Broom is AAP`s symbol for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Referring to the case of Anna Hazare purportedly venting his dismay at the alleged misuse by AAP of funds collected during the Jan Lokpal movement, Ramdev said the AAP convener Kejriwal was not right in hurting the feelings of the anti-corruption crusader, whom he calls his guru.
"Some very unfortunate things have come to light. I am not making any allegations. "Kejriwal was making allegations against politicians for being corrupt and thieves. But it seems that his people have become corrupt even before coming to power," Ramdev said.
Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Ramdev said he was still unsure as to AAP`s political philosophy. "It is still a mystery whether they are rightist, leftist, capitalist, communist or opportunist."
