Yoga guru Ramdev found himself at the centre of controversy following a viral video where he seemed to make remarks against Other Backward Classes (OBC). Mr Ramdev, however, came forward to clarify that his comments were directed at AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and not intended to insult the OBC community.

The video, widely circulated on social media, sparked outrage as it suggested that Mr Ramdev had demeaned the OBC community by asserting his Brahmin identity. Responding to media queries, Mr Ramdev insisted that his statement had been misconstrued and misheard.

VIDEO | “I said ‘Owaisi’ and not ‘OBC’,” says Ramdev in response to a media query whether he had made any remarks on ‘OBC’. pic.twitter.com/oTyDOLTXQI

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 13, 2024

“I said ‘Owaisi’ and not ‘OBC.’ His (Owaisi’s) predecessors were anti-nationals. I don’t take him seriously,” Ramdev said.

While the video in question could not be independently verified by NDTV, it allegedly shows Mr Ramdev proclaiming his Brahmin identity and listing various Brahmin gotras, including “Agnihotri Brahmin”.

बाबा पाखंडी रामदेव को सार्वजनिक मांफी मांगनी चाहिए,ओबीसी का अपमान करने का अधिकार तुम्हे किसने दिया,

तुम्हें जो करना है करिये इसमें ओबीसी
को घसीटना गलत है,#Boycott_Patanjali#बाबा_रामदेव_माफ़ी_मांगो https://t.co/2Ep9aSNWqd… pic.twitter.com/d52LwxSAxP

— Sasikant Singh (@SASIKANTSINGH10) January 13, 2024

The yoga guru explained, “My original gotra is Brahma gotra. I am an Agnihotri Brahman. People say babaji is OBC…I am a Vedi Brahmin, Dwivedi Brahmin, Trivedi Brahmin, Chaturvedi Brahmin – I have read four Vedas.”

After the video went viral, many on social media protested using ‘#boycottpatanjali’ and criticsed RMr amdev for his purported insult to the backward community. 

Sunday morning remains wrapped in a thick blanket of fog in Delhi and other parts of the country. As many as 22 trains and 150 flights linking the national capital have been delayed. RK Puram recorded the minimum temperature at 7 degrees this morning.

The visibility was found to be zero in the airport area. Delhi airport had issued a fog alert last night itself, urging fliers to contact the airlines for updated flight information.

Airlines too have flagged “weather challenges” in northern India with budget carrier IndiGo saying their flight schedules may experience interruptions due to the bad weather.

SpiceJet alerted that departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected due to poor visibility in Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Patna, Bagdogra and Darbhanga,

In Chennai, where Pongal celebrations begin today, five inbound international flights were diverted to Hyderabad and 18 flights delayed. Chennai airport has suspended landings at least for an hour.

Very dense fog have been reported in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu division, Chandigarh, Assam and south interior Karnataka, while parts of Tripura, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu reported moderate fog.

The air quality has also dipped to the ‘severe’ category in several areas in Delhi. The weather office has issued a red alert in view of the cold and fog conditions and forecast dense fog in Delhi till Tuesday.

Friday saw the season’s first cold wave day with the temperature dipping to 3.9 degrees Celsius. Saturday’s was coldest night as the temperature fell to season’s coldest at 3 degrees in Aya Nagar, the last village of Delhi on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road.

Former Union Minister Milind Deora resigned from the Congress party and is expected to join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde later today.

“I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of Congress, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“I am grateful to all leaders, colleagues & karyakartas for their unwavering support over the years,” he added.

Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey. I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of @INCIndia, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party.

I am grateful to all leaders, colleagues & karyakartas for their…

— Milind Deora | मिलिंद देवरा ☮️ (@milinddeora) January 14, 2024

Mr Deora, son of Congress veteran Murli Deora, had won the Mumbai South seat in 2004 and 2009. He ended up as the first runner-up in the subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019 against Shiv Sena (undivided) leader Arvind Sawant.

He had recently expressed displeasure over the Uddhav Thackeray faction winning the Mumbai South seat. The Uddhav Thackeray-led group, Shiv Sena (UBT) is a part of the opposition alliance.

In a video statement issued last Sunday, Mr Deora said that if such statements by an “alliance partner” don’t stop, his party too can announce candidates for seats.

He took the decision to resign from Congress after discussions with his supporters.

Taking a dig at Milind Deora’s exit from the party, Congress general secretary recalled how his father Murli Deora had friends in all political parties but always stood by the party.

“I recall my long years of association with Murli Deora with great fondness. He had close friends in all political parties, but was a stalwart Congressman who always stood by the Congress party — through thick and thin. Tathastu!” he wrote on X.