Ramdev condemns vandalism at temple in US

Nagpur, Mar 9 (PTI) Patanjali Ayurved's co-founder Ramdev on Sunday condemned vandalism at a Hindu temple in California and said India should take an initiative in finding a way to curb "religious terrorism".

Speaking to reporters the sidelines of an event here, the yoga guru also said Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the people's ideal and not Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

A prominent Hindu temple in California was defaced with anti-India graffiti by some unknown persons, in another incident targeting the community's sacred spaces in the US.

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) said that its Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chino Hills city of San Bernardino County faced desecration. Chino Hills borders Los Angeles County.

India on Sunday strongly condemned the incident, and demanded "stringent action" against those involved. New Delhi also called for adequate security to the places of worship in view of the incident.

Asked about the incident, Ramdev said the way 'Sanatan Dharma' is being targeted in Europe, America and Britain by "religious terrorists" is very shameful.

"The entire world is suffering due to this religious terrorism. All the heads of different countries need to find a way out of this, and India should take an initiative for this," he said.

To another question pertaining to Aurangzeb, Ramdev said the Mughal king cannot an ideal for the people of India.

"He belonged to a family of robbers. Be it Babur or his family, they came to loot India. They tortured thousands of our women. They cannot be our ideals...Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is our ideal," he said.

To a query on US President Donald Trump's tarrif policy, Ramdev claimed this is a kind of "economic terrorism" and "tariff terrorism", and taking the world into a different era.

He said amid dangerous situations shaping up in the world, "we need to make India powerful and developed as some powerful nations want to take the world towards destruction".

Ramdev was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of Patanjali Food and Herbal Park at Mihan in Nagpur. PTI CLS GK

Source: PTI