'Sharbat Jihad': Ramdev accuses soft drink brand of building mosques with sales returns

'If you drink that sharbat, there will be masjids and madrasas made. But, if you drink Patanjali's gulaab sharbat, then gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board will be made,' Ramdev said in the video.

Yoga guru Ramdev has landed himself in a controversy after he warned people against “sharbat jihad" which he likened to “love jihad” and “vote jihad”. In a video posted on the Facebook page of Patanjali Products, the Yoga guru is seen criticising a soft drink company as he accuses the brand of building mosques with the returns they get from selling the product.

"If you drink that sharbat, there will be masjids and madrasas made. But, if you drink Patanjali's gulaab sharbat, then gurukuls, Acharyakulam, Patanjali University, and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board will be made," he said in the video.

He declared that people have been drinking "toilet cleaners" in the name of soft drink in summer to quench their thirst. While Ramdev did not reveal the name of the company he was targeting in the video, publications have reported that he might be referring to Hamdard’s Rooh Afza.

"Protect your family and innocent children from the poison of toilet cleaners being sold in the name of soft drinks and 'sharbat Jihad'," the caption of the video that has around 37 million views read.

The video is liked by 114K people as several people appreciated the initiative by the company.

However, some people even criticised Ramdev as one wrote: "Lagta hai Inka bhi dhang change ho gaya hai yah bhi rajniti mein jana chahte Hain tabhi to masjid madrase yad a rahe hain(looks like his ways have changed as well, and he wants to enter politics. That is why he is talking about mosques and madrasas)", while others urged him to improve the quality of Patanjali products.

Several users in the comment section asked Patanjali reveal the total number of gurukuls and universities they have opened so far.

Meanwhile, the video has also been shared on X where users have called out the company for selling "fake products".

"Fake , uneducated baba, will make you fool,be careful his products have no food standard,sell your products on quality standards not on basis of religion," a user wrote, however, another netizen said: "Respect for Baba Ramdev for this"

Only a few days back Ramdev made headlines when he said that the Waqf (Amendment) Act will strengthen India's system of one Constitution, one law for all religions, yoga guru Ramdev said on Sunday and described the legislation's passage in Parliament a "historic decision".

Muslims should believe in their faith and religion but they also know that Ram is their ancestor as well, the yoga guru claimed.

"Ram is our nation, religion, culture, our basic nature, dignity," he said.