Bamer: Rajasthan police launched a suo moto enquiry on Saturday into the controversial remarks made by yoga guru Baba Ramdev.
In a video taking rounds on social media, yoga guru Baba Ramdev is seen making a bigoted speech against Muslims and Christians in a recent event in Rajasthan’s Barmer.
While addressing the crowd in Rajasthan’s Bamer district, the yoga guru can be heard accusing Muslims of committing terrorist acts and abducting Hindu women. He claimed that Islam and Christianity were similar in their sole agenda of “converting” people to their respective religions.
“Ask any Muslim what your religion teaches, and they say, ‘keep reading namaz every day and do whatever you want’ even if that means kidnapping Hindu women. This is their definition of Islam. They are sinners, our Muslim brothers,” Ramdev said.
“Read the namaz daily and then do whatever you want, even if that means becoming a terrorist,” he added.
“I am not criticising anyone but…some people are obsessed with converting the entire world to Islam and…Christianity,” Ramdev was heard saying.
He also commented on how Muslims dressed, saying, “for them, heaven means wearing pyjamas over ankles, cutting their moustaches, and wearing their caps. I am not saying that the Quran or any Islam tells them to do this. But that’s how people are doing it”.
He said that the idea of Islamic heaven is beautiful angels and alcohol. “All these people have to do is shave their moustache, wear a white kurta-pyjama and a topi,” he said, further clarifying that though Islam or the Quran does not say such things, this is what is being spread. “I am not saying that Islam or the Quran ask them to do it but they are doing it anyhow,” he said.
He said that such a concept of heaven is worse than hell.
Coming to Christians he says, “What does Christianity say? Go to church, light a candle, and then stand in front of the Lord Jesus, all your sins are washed away.” He talks about the cross. a holy sign in Christians as well as the Rosary necklace.
“They have some cross-like sign on their neck and then other chains that looks alike like ours,” he said.
He then clarifies that he is not against any religion in particular and then goes on to mention religious conversions. “Muslims want the whole world to convert to Islam and Christians want the whole world to accept Christianity as their major religion,” he said.
संत समागम बाड़मेर से लाइव https://t.co/bJJh9c29hz
— स्वामी रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) February 2, 2023
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a non-profit organisation dedicated to protection of human rights, on Friday condemned the derogatory statements as attention-seeking to fit in with “extremist” ideologies.