Kejriwal walks out of Hazare-Ramdev fast venue

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal Saturday walked out of the venue where social activist Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev were fasting here after the latter snubbed him for targeting individual parliamentarians.

After Kejriwal attacked some members of parliament in his speech, Ramdev said the fight against corruption was not against individuals.

"Today, we thought that we will not take anybody's name. But Arvind took the names.

"Arvind Kejriwal should not have taken names. It could create controversy. Please don't see it as a personal attack. This fight is not against any individual," Ramdev said.

However, another Team Anna member, downplaying the issue, said Kejriwal left the venue because he was unwell.

"Kejriwal left taking due permission from Anna and Baba. He excused himself for health reasons," the team member, who did not want to be named, said.

But later, Kejriwal wrote a message on Twitter justifying his naming individuals in his speech.

"This is a political battle and we will have to name and shame and demand severe action against corrupt people. I have greatest respect for Swamiji (Ramdev).

I will personally speak to Swami Ramdevji. I'm sure I'll be able to persuade him that naming is important," he tweeted.

During his speech, Kejriwal had attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said the parliament would never pass the Lokpal Bill as long as members of parliament such as Lalu Prasad and A. Raja were present.

"There is an allegation against Manmohan singh in the coal allocation scam. One fifty-five mines were given to private companies without bidding and Manmohan Singh was the coal minister that time," he had said in his speech.

He also named former telecom minister A. Raja, allegedly involved in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad for their alleged involvement in corruption cases.