Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev I File photo | Photo Credit: BCCL

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Sunday joined a slew of voices expressing displeasure for ‘neglecting’ different persons for the coveted Bharat Ratna award. The Patanjali founder said its unfortunate that eminent hermits and seers such as Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati or Swami Vivekananda, Shivakumara Swami Ji have been overlooked by the selection committee of the awards over the years.

“Maharishi Dayananda aur Swami Vivekananda ka yogdaan rajnetaon, kalakaron se kam hai? Aaj tak ek bhi sanyasi ko Bharat Ratna kyun nahi mila?Mother Teresa ko de sakte hain kyunki wo Esaai hain, lekin sanyasiyon ko nahi kyunki vo Hindu hain, Hindu hona gunaah hai iss desh mein? (Is contribution of Dayananda or Swami Vivekananda less than any politician or artist? Not a single hermit or saint has been awarded Bharat Ratna. Mother Teresa was given the award since she is Christian but not to Hindu saints. Is it a sin to be born a Hindu in this country?),” Ramdev asked.

Yog Guru Ramdev: It's unfortunate that in last 70 years, not even one sanyasi has been awarded Bharat Ratna, be it Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati or Swami Vivekananda, Shivakumara Swami Ji. All these saints who have contributed so much must also be conferred with the Bharat Ratna. https://t.co/k6OlmqSFPP — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 27, 2019

On January 25, Rashtrapati Bhawan conferred the Bharat Ratna on former President Pranab Mukherjee, eminent social activist and RSS ideologue Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously)and late Assamese singer Dr Bhupen Hazarika.

A debate emanated after the announcement as different commentators either lauded the government or questioned the move. Some said the government’s decision to confer the award on Mukherjee was a ploy to divide the Congress while others lauded it claiming it shows the bipartisan nature of PM Narendra Modi. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the award being conferred on Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika and neglecting Lingayat Mutt seer Shivakumara Swami, who died on January 11.

"The government know about his work. Even then the BJP government did not give him the award. This is sad. A singer and a man who propagated RSS ideology have also been awarded. If you compare all of them, then Shivakumara Swami Ji should have been given the award,"