Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has become controversial recently for his anti-Modi and anti-BJP statements. He has openly said he will not support the BJP in the coming general election. Now he has hit out at the Modi government for not conferring Bharat Ratna on a Sadhu like Swamy Vivekananda and Dayananda Swaraswathi. The remarks were made amid controversies surrounding the conferring of the award on former President Pranab Mukherjee.

Ramdev deplored that this highest award was not given to any Sanyasin or Sadhu in the last seven decades despite the outstanding services they rendered to Indian society. There has been demand from Karnataka BJP and Congress leaders for the Bharat Ratna to Sivakumar Swami of Siddaganga Mutt who passed away recently.

In the past, there was a demand from different organisations for this award to NT Rama Rao. But this has taken a back seat considering the serious differences between BJP and TDP right now. Because of this strained political atmosphere in AP, no leader from any party has made a comment on this aspect till now. After Pranab Mukherjee was conferred Bharat Ratna, there were many people making a political issue out of this. Everything gets politicised during election season.

G.Ravikiran