Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that those engaged in illegal religious conversions in the country with the evil intention of converting the nation itself will never succeed in their nefarious designs as the nation was awakened.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the six-day Kumbh programme organised by All India Hindu Gore, Banjara and Labana community in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, to unite the Banjara, Labana and Nayakada communities all over India and stop religious conversion of the community, Chief Minister Yogi said that playing with Sanatan Dharma, meant playing with humanity itself.

Emphasising that people should feel proud of Sanatan Dharma, the chief minister said that it was the oldest religion of the world, which paved the way for the welfare of humanity at large.  

Addressing a gathering of around 50,000 people at the Kumbh convention being held since January 25, Yogi said that it was only Santan Dharma which could proclaim Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. He said that the Banjara Kumbh had proved that it would work to protect Mother India, to take the resolution of its revered saints, sages, great men and revolutionaries to the pinnacle of accomplishment through religious awakening.

According to the chief minister, the spirit of Kumbh is that of fulfillment of all wishes and aspirations.

Yogi said: “We are fortunate to be born in India, which shows the path of humanity to the world.”

Targeting the illegal conversions taking place in the country, the chief minister said that those who wanted to work inside India with the evil intention of converting the nation through illegal religious conversion of people would never succeed in their designs.

“The society is awake now. As India celebrates Amrit Mahotsava of its Independence, the country is achieving new heights every day. A new India is taking shape today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Given the speed with which the Government of India is working and protecting the eternal values, the country will become the number one economy in the world within the next few years,” Chief Minister Yogi remarked.

He said that in the Amrit Mahotsav year of Independence, India had got the distinction of leading the top 20 countries of the world. “Reminding every Indian of the five vows, the prime minister had said that all the traces of slavery must be removed from the country forever. You must have seen that the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan has now been renamed as Amrit Udyan. After waiting for 500 years, a grand temple of Lord Ram is being constructed in Ayodhya. Don't know how many conflicts took place in 500 years. Lakhs of Hindus and saints had to be sacrificed. But the movement progressed under the leadership of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and under the guidance of respected saints and when a government which gave priority to the nation took over, it paved the way for building a grand temple in Ayodhya. Next year Ram Lalla will sit in his grand temple.”

Praising the organisers of Kumbh, the chief minister said that Kumbh had been organised here for the last six days in the company of revered saints while people coming from different states of the country engaged in it with a sense of service, which was exemplary. Such Kumbh programmes should be run across the country as a national campaign, he added.

The Kumbh aims at uniting the Banjara, Labana and Nayakada communities all over India and stopping religious conversion of the community. Here a resolution was also passed at the national level demanding 'law not conversion'. It was organised jointly by the saints and the Banjara community. Saints including Bhaiya ji Joshi and Baba Ramdev, co-head of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were present during the closing ceremony. Apart from this, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis joined the Kumbh programme through video conferencing.