Even Yoga guru Baba Ramdev would not have expected that somebody would draw parallels between him and national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narayan.
But after achieving a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha polls, senior BJP leaders on Sunday thanked Ramdev for awakening voters and compared his efforts with the struggles of Gandhiji and JP.
A visibly elated senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley heaped praises on the yoga guru.
Praise for Yoga guru: Baba Ramdev greets senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley during Sankalp Purti Mahotsav organised by Bharat Swabhiman Trust in New Delhi on Sunday
“He (Ramdev) had no greed of any post. His motto is to strengthen the system. Struggles he underwent while fighting corruption and black money are similar to those faced by Mahatma Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narayan,” he said.
Jaitley was speaking at Sankalp Purti Mahotsav – a programme organised by the followers of Ramdev in the wake of the BJP’s success in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
“Gandhiji used to say politics gets wasted without religious values.
“Opportunities come at times in the society when people other than politicians get inspired to do something for politics as well as for the society.
“They don’t participate in the politics, but, when they feel there is a need for change, they jump into the battle.
“There have been very few people who take interest in many aspects of life.
“I mentioned Gandhiji… he used to write even on health issues, religion, politics and economy; yet he devoted himself to the transformation and the country witnessed biggest revolution.
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“I have seen many such personalities. Ramdevji was identified with yoga and Ayurveda; he also deliberates on economy and when need came for struggle, he jumped into it.
“You have contributed a lot to bring in a great revolution,” Jaitley said.
The yoga guru had vowed not to return to his Patanjali ashram in Hardwar till the Congress-led UPA government was defeated.
Apart from Jaitely, Rajnath Singh also attended the function. The BJP president also thanked Ramdev for his support to the party in the electoral battle.
Many BJP MPs, including former Army chief and Ghaziabad MP V.K. Singh, former Mumbai Police Commissioner and Bagpath MP Satypal Singh, Delhi MPs Udit Raj, Meenakshi Lekhi and Kangra MP Shanta Kumar attended the function.