Will possibly join BJP if ideologies match: Paripoornanada

Sripeetam seer, Swami Paripoornananda, said that he would possibly join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if their ideologies match.

Earlier, reports were doing the rounds that the pontiff, who is being seen as the Yogi Adityanath of Telangana will join the BJP.

Speaking on the same, Paripoornananda told ANI, "If I have to join, then the party will choose me, why should I run after a party? If there is a similarity in my thoughts and theirs (BJP), then there might be a possibility (of joining)."

Paripoornananda was externed from Hyderabad on July 11 for six months by the Hyderabad police for making provocative comments against other communities.

However, the Telangana High Court reversed the ban after a petition was filed by the Hindu seer.

Paripoornananda, who returned to the city on Tuesday, has long been rumoured to join the BJP and is also dubbed as "Yogi Adityanath of the South." However, he dismissed these comparisons, saying the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's political expertise is far greater than his.

"I and Yogi Ji are of the same age bracket, but he has more political knowledge because he is a four-time Member of Parliament and he is known for his unique identity," the swami from Shree Peetham mutt in Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada said.

Paripoornananda confirmed that he will be working with BJP leader T. Raja Singh in the coming elections, saying that, "whoever works for Hindutva, I will work with them."

He was also not concerned with Singh's known affinity for hate speeches, saying the MLA from Goshamahal assembly constituency makes hate speeches because he gets hurt when anything bad is said about the Hindu community. "We will not tolerate it," said Paripoornananda.

When questioned about his known hatred for Owaisi brothers- Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi, he said, "People who don't want to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' why should I like them. Also, they have always said bad things about my religion, I don't have any personal problem with them but they say bad things about my god that is the reason I don't like them.