Ramdev meets Raj at residence, raises eyebrows

Mumbai: Yoga guru Ramdev met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday morning in Mumbai. Although the meeting was termed as a “courtesy visit”, it has managed to raise a few eyebrows in the political circles because of Baba Ramdev’s proximity with top Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leadership.

The details of the discussion between Mr Thackeray and Baba Ramdev are not known. But the photos released by the MNS shows that Baba Ramdev met Raj Thackeray and his son Amit Thackeray, who has recently shown a keen interest in politics. After the meeting, Mr Thackeray hailed Baba Ramdev as “the biggest global evangelist of the Hindu traditions of yoga and ayurveda.”  

The MNS chief also praised Baba Ramdev’s efforts to promote yoga and also ayurveda globally, through his FMCG firm Patanjali Ayurved Ltd.The meeting took place at Raj Thackeray’s residence Krishna Kunj in Dadar at around 9.30am.

The yoga guru has become a household name after launching various products under his biggest Ayurveda brand Patanjali. In the past three years, Baba Ramdev shared the stage with many political heavyweights including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“It was great meeting with Baba Ramdev. He is the biggest global evangelist of Hindu traditions of yoga and ayurveda that India has seen,” Mr Thackeray told reporters after the meeting.

However, Baba Ramdev and his company did not release any official statement about the meeting. Baba Ramdev was given about 600 acre of land in Vidarbha region to set up his Patanjali plant recently.