Sonipat: Yoga teacher Baba Ramdev has refused to take a status equal to that of a Cabinet minister in the Haryana government. The state government had decided to felicitate Ramdev, the brand ambassador for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in the state, on Tuesday in Sonipat's Rai.
But Ramdev decided against taking up the Cabinet rank. "I'm a sanyaasi, service to humanity is my only objective. I'm not looking for any ministerial position or status," he said in Rai.
"For your decision to bestow me with this honour, I thank you (Haryana government) profusely, but I want to humbly state that I want to serve you by remaining a 'baba' and a 'fakir'. What you have given, I want to thank you for that but very respectfully I want to hand it back to you," Ramdev said.
The Haryana government had faced opposition attack over the move, with the Congress accusing it of "going out of the way to please Ramdev". He, will, however, continue to be Haryana's brand ambassador to promote Yoga and Ayurveda.
In his address to the gathering, in which Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, his ministers Ram Bilas Sharma, Anil Vij, Kavita Jain among others were present, Ramdev said, "I want to humbly thank CM Khattar and entire Cabinet of Haryana and want to state that before (Haryana) polls (last year) many people had said that baba (Ramdev) has so many MPs.
"After polls they said baba has so many ministers, what is more important than how many ministers, MPs, MLAs how many CMs baba has, is the fact that Narendra Modi, he too is baba's PM, he is country's PM, therefore he is our PM."
Ramdev said that he had worked selflessly to realise the mission of making Modi as the country's Prime Minister by treating it as "rashtra dharma".
"Now, that PM is ours, entire Cabinet is ours, Haryana CM is ours and his Cabinet is ours, so let baba remain a baba. I want to serve you like this only (by remaining a baba)," Ramdev said.
"I have to work for my country by rising above these honours and rewards," Ramdev said, adding that even when talks about Padma awards were going on, he had stated that a "fakir is a fakir" and is above such awards.
On April 13, the Haryana Government had decided to give status of Cabinet Minister to Ramdev, for which a notification was to be issued later on.
Official sources had said that those granted "status equivalent to Cabinet minister" were not entitled to salary and allowances payable to a legislator sworn-in as a Cabinet minister.
They are, however, entitled to protocol facilities, including escort and state guest status at official rest houses.
(With inputs from PTI)
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