Role of priests different in western culture, India: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday argued there is a difference between the role of priests in "western culture" and in India, explaining to an American delegation how a man of religion like him entered politics.

"In western culture a priest is limited to religious activities only, but in India the concept of Dharma has immense potential and is not limited to religious activities," he said, answering a question from the visitors.

Adityanath said Dharma is a way of life.

"It paves path for humanity and shows us the way to perform our moral duties and responsibilities and we have accepted politics as a part of it," he added, according to a press release.

Talking about the India-US ties, Adityanath said he agrees with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that both the countries have stood with each other in fighting terrorism.

Being one of the largest states of India, Uttar Pradesh is also among the biggest markets. The state government has made a lot of efforts to bring prosperity to citizens, the chief minister told the delegation.

Adityanath also shared the success mantra for Kumbh Mela 2019 held in Allahabad.

Over 24 crore devotees recorded their presence in the 45-day cultural programme. Despite such a large number of devotees, there was no chaos or mismanagement in the entire event. Technology was used extensively and artificial intelligence was used for crowd management, he said.

Asked about the challenges faced in governance, he said his government aims to benefit people without any discrimination and when there is no discrimination, there aren't many challenges.