Pujya Guruji Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji. I am deeply hurt that u have written such strong sentiments against me...... ; Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 4, 2014

Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has blasted Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying it would be a disaster for the country if he is voted power in the Lok Sabha election. Hurt with the comments, Kejriwal also tweeted his anguish, saying one day he will convince the guru that what he is doing is for the good of the country.

....I pray to God that some day I will be able to convince u that i am working only for the country and have no selfish motives..... ; Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 4, 2014

..I sincerely hope that some day, i will be able to remove all ill feelings that u have against me.... ; Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 4, 2014



In a column in Hindustan Times, Ravi Shankar, who had supported Kejriwal and Anna Hazare during Lokpal movement, said that the AAP has left the country choice less.

"If the AAP government had fallen because of its positive action against corruption, it would have scored high on integrity. But the party was ill-advised to resign so that it could get out of Delhi and sweep the nation.

"By doing this, Kejriwal showed himself to be no different from other politicians - the hidden ambition and agenda came to the forefront," he wrote.

"Cheap publicity stunts, self-contradiction, over-ambition and autocracy tarnished the positive image of AAP and soon many respectable people became disillusioned and left the party. If AAP is voted for a role in national politics and if Kejriwal does what he did in Delhi, it will be an absolute disaster for the country," he added.

The spiritual guru also came out in support of Narendra Modi's Gujarat model of development, which came under severe onslaught during the tour of Arvind Kejriwal.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Anna Hazare during Lokpal movement Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Anna Hazare during Lokpal movement

"He visited Gujarat for four days and hurled criticism without any basis at the state's development. I have travelled through the length and breadth of Gujarat over the years. In the 1990s and early 2000s, to see a tree in Saurashtra was a rarity.

"While Gujarat may not be 100% corruption-free, I have no hesitation in saying that it is much better than what it used to be. Instead of being honest with facts, Kejriwal has chosen to put down BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on flimsy grounds," he wrote.