On Friday, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said that India is a secular country because it has a Hindu population in the majority.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, CM Yogi said that followers of Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) have whenever required provided protection to the followers of other religions in times of threat or danger. “We view it as our Daayitva (duty). We do not view Sanatan Dharma as a mode of worship. Modes of worship can be different, it can be Vedic, Jainism, Buddhism, or Sikh,” CM Yogi said.
To this, the India TV anchor asks the question about Muslims and Christians, CM Yogi while responding to this said that the question is if followers of Sanatan Dharma have not given the protection (Sangrakshan) to them when they were faced with crisis or threat.
“We have always protected them, you see Bharat is secular today because it has a Hindu majority, which guarantees the protection of everyone. Bharat believes in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and adopts it in its way of life otherwise what has been happening in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and many other countries. In many such countries in the world, places of worship of other religions, the followers of which are minorities there, are being destroyed completely, but nobody speaks up there,” Yogi said.
#IndiaTVSamvaad | बजट संवाद योगी आदित्यनाथ के साथ
— India TV (@indiatvnews) February 3, 2023
बाबा का बुलडोजर.. पूरे देश में कैसे हुआ पॉपुलर?#CMYogiAdityanath #YogiAdityanath #UttarPradesh #YogiOnIndiaTV
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When the anchor says that India is tolerant, CM Yogi asked, “what shall I do? Will this country be punished for its tolerance and kindness?”
Before speaking about his recent comments where he called Sanatan Dharma the national religion or Rashtriya Dharma, CM Yogi cited a reference to Ramayana to define Sanatan Dharma and its comprehensive nature.
“In Ramayana, there is a small definition of Sanatan Dharma. When Lord Hanuman was heading towards Lanka, he stops at Mainak mountain where he was asked to take a rest, it is mentioned in Ramayana as ‘Krite Cha Pratikritavyamesh Dharma Sanatan’ (कृते च प्रतिकर्तव्यम् एष धर्म: सनातन:।) which means repaying good deeds is Sanatan Dharma,” CM Yogi said.
CM Yogi Adityanath also commented on the recent controversy surrounding Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas, wherein Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya demanded the removal of a few verses that referenced women and Shudras “This is an amateurish attempt by the Samajwadi Party to draw people’s attention away from development. They aim to weaken our commitment to progress. They are harming the state by doing this.”
Recently, during an event related to the restoration of Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Jalore, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the Sanatan Dharma as the ‘national religion’ and said that every citizen of the country should respect it. CM Yogi also asserted that for the religious places that were destroyed or desecrated in the past, a campaign should to started to restore them, as was done in the case of Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
हमारा ‘सनातन धर्म’ भारत का ‘राष्ट्रीय धर्म’ है… pic.twitter.com/1MCGNHuK3O
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) January 27, 2023
CM Yogi said, “Our Sanatan Dharma is India’s “Rashtriya Dharma”. We establish a connection to “Rashtriya Dharma” when we rise above selfishness. Connecting to the national religion makes our nation secure. Symbols of our honour should be re-established, and the cow and Brahmins should be protected. If our religious places were desecrated in any era, then there should be a campaign to restore them, like the Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya. After 500 years, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, Bhagwan Ram’s grand temple is being built in Ayodhya.”
