Art of Living founder’s Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Saturday reportedly called for chanting of Pakistan Zindabad slogans along with Jai Hind.
The Hindu quoted Sri Sri as saying “Jai Hind and Pakistan Zindabad should go together”.
Curiously, the self-proclaimed spiritual guru made this suggestion in presence of the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj.
Soon after Pakistan’s Mufti Muhammad Saeed Khan finished his speech at the World Culture Festival, Sri Sri said, “Jai Hind and Pakistan Zindabad should go together. It should be a win-win situation for both sides. We should focus on winning and making the other also win.”
This has stirred a new controversy with opposition parties particularly Congress mocking BJP for what it said was sheer hypocrisy of the saffron party on the definition of anti-nationals.
Congress’ Salman Nizami said, “Bhakts are totally silent on Sri Sri’s Pakistan Zindabad slogan. If any other person did that, they would be out for blood.”
Meanwhile, a photo of people waving Pakistani flags at the venue of World Culture Festival too has gone viral on social media with people criticising the BJP for being silent on the issue it otherwise would not hesitate in jumping on for political gains.
The BJP and its affiliate, ABVP, had expressed unprecedented outrage on the alleged anti-national sloganeering on the JNU campus. The Delhi police, which reports to the central government had arrested the JNU students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya on sedition charges.