‘Sharbat Jihad’ controversy: Haven’t mentioned anyone’s name, justifies Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has defended his recent controversial ‘sharbat jihad’ comment, stating he did not name any specific brand or community in his statement.
Ramdev has been greatly criticized for saying earlier this week that a company selling sharbat was using the income to build mosques and madrasas. He had also called it ‘sharbat jihad’. Ramdev had made the comment even as he was marketing Patanjali Ayurved’s ‘Gulab Sharbat’.
Defending his statement, the yoga guru said on Friday that the Hamdard company people, who produce ‘Rooh Afza’, had assumed that the phrase ‘sharbat jihad’ was about them. “This proves they are indulging in jihad,” Ramdev has said, according to a report by the Times of India.
He said that, if the employees of the company were dedicated to Islam and were building mosques and madrasas, they should be happy. He also asked the ‘Sanatanis’ to understand the situation.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh had filed a complaint against Ramdev, accusing the yoga guru of making the ‘sharbat jihad’ statement and attempting to incite communal disharmony in order to boost the sales of Patanjali Ayurved’s products. The MP had called the statement ‘not just defamatory but also unconstitutional’.
Ramdev was also criticized by several social media users, who opined the statement to be communal.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sengottaiyan secures historic 10th victory in Gobichettipalayam assembly constituency
Gobichettipalayam (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): In a historic 10th win, veteran leader K A Sengottaiyan clinched the Gobichettipalayam seat in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Contesting for the first time under actor Vijay’s TVK, the 78-year-old secured approximately 71,380 votes, defeating DMK’s N Nallasivam by a margin of nearly 13,000 votes.
This win marks Sengottaiyan’s 10th consecutive victory in the constituency, cementing his status as an immovable force in the region despite his high-profile exit from the AIADMK in late 2025.
His success was a cornerstone for the TVK, which emerged as a formidable force across the state. Supporters celebrated the win as a testament to Sengottaiyan’s personal influence, which successfully transitioned from his former Dravidian home to the newly formed TVK.
