‘Article 370 done, next up PoK, Aksai Chin’, says Yoga guru Ramdev

Yoga guru Ramdev has termed the move of abrogating the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and splitting the state into two union territories as historic. He said that next it would be the turn of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Aksai Chin.

Passing through Prayagraj late on Wednesday evening, Ramdev made a brief stopover to meet Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad president Swami Narendra Giri at his ashram, Baghambari Mutt, in Allahpur.

Praising PM Narendra Modi, Ramdev said that it was for the first time after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that such strong political will has been witnessed in the country, paving the way for Article 370 to be nullified through the support of 370 parliamentarians. “The next phase would be POK and Aksai Chin,” he claimed.

He said that he was not lucky enough to have witnessed August 15, 1947, when Indian won its freedom from the British but considered himself fortunate to have witnessed the historic day when special status to Jammu and Kashmir got abrogated.

“People used to spread panic predicting violence and bloodshed if such a move was undertaken. The country was being divided over this small thing. But nothing of this sort has happened,” he pointed out.

Ramdev said that he was convinced that soon a grand temple will come up in Ayodhya for Ram Lalla. “For this, all sections of society should come forward and all religions should cooperate,” he said.

The yoga guru said that the Ram temple in Ayodhya was not a dispute about land but that of conscience. “Just as Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir has been nullified, in the same way the Ram Temple will also get constructed,” he said.

On being asked of the temple issue should be resolved though dialogue and discussion, he said that it was not a matter for ‘panchayat’. “The issue is before the Supreme Court and it will resolve this issue. However, if the court does not resolve it, then a law will be passed in this regard by parliament,” he maintained while pointing out that “all our ancestors were one and we share the same DNA”. 

First Published: Aug 08, 2019 17:49 IST