He said that bachelors like him should be honoured and people who have more than two kids should be penalized at an event organized at Patanjali Yogpeeth.
Haridwar: Yoga Guru and the face of Patanjali products, Baba Ramdev was caught in another controversial storm recently when he said, “Special honours should be reserved for those who, like me, do not marry. And those who marry and give birth to more than two children should have their voting rights taken.”
He said that bachelors like him should be honoured and married people with more than two kids should be penalized at an event organized at Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar.
He achieved fame first as a yoga guru and later when he became the face of Haridwar based Patanjali, which became a household brand and claimed to have 56,000 retailers.
The 52-year-old gave credit to his bachelor status for the success he has seen in life.
“I don’t go around with the baggage (of having a family). I have created brands. I want to make 1,000 such brands which will make India the world’s biggest economy by 2050,” news agency Press Trust of India quoted him as saying at a function earlier this year.
“Na biwi na bacche phir bhi dekho kitne acche (There is no wife, no children, and see how comfortable we still are),” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
“Ramdev, who supported the BJP’s national election campaign in 2015, had indicated that he would stay away from the party in the next elections. ‘I have withdrawn myself politically. I am with all parties and I am with no parties,’ he said at a special youth conclave organized by NDTV.
He has been in the news for many controversial statements, most famously for his comment on homosexuality and Dalits. He has repeatedly claimed that he can cure homosexuality. In 2013, he also pledged to launch a nationwide agitation if Section 377 of the IPC was to be repealed.
“He also had to appear in a Hisar court earlier this year for his alleged comments in April 2014, about Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. According to 2014 PTI reports, Ramdev had said, “He (Rahul) goes to Dalits’ houses for honeymoon and picnic. Had he married a Dalit girl, then his luck could have clicked and he would have become the Prime Minister,” reported Quint.
“Earlier, several BJP leaders have called for Hindu women to produce more four or more children to respond to the alleged growth in the population of Muslims. BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj had earlier said, “The concept of four wives and 40 children will not work in India and the time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect Hindu religion.” Another BJP lawmaker, Surendra Singh, has also asked Hindu women to produce five children. Singh had gone on to say that having a child was akin to ‘having prasad from God.’ “Why should you deny that? Hindus will become a minority if there is no balance in population control,” he was quoted as saying,” a report said.