Ramdev files complaint against Yechury

Yoga guru Ramdev, along with other seers, on Saturday filed a complaint with SSP Haridwar against CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury for his statement that epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence and battles.

"We have filed a complaint against Yechury who has insulted our ancestors. This is an offence. He should be put behind the bars. We have demanded a strict investigation into the matter," Ramdev told reporters here.

On Thursday, Yechury attacked the BJP for fragmenting society for votes through its divisive policies, branding religious epics Ramayana and Mahabharata as specimens of Hindu violence.

"Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur said that Hindus don't believe in violence. Many kings and principalities have fought battles in the country. Even the Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence. Being a 'pracharak', you narrate the epics but still claim Hindus can't be violent? What is the logic behind saying there is a religion which engages in violence and we Hindus don't," he had said.

Since then, several leaders have criticised Yechury for making the remark, with the Shiv Sena saying that the CPI-M general secretary should drop his name 'Sitaram'.

"If Sitaram Yechury calls Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu violence, then he should remove Sitaram from his name. He should also change their candidate Kanhaiya Kumar's name as his name is also Krishna's name," Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut had told ANI.