Continuing his Sanatana Dharma pitch, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Sunday said that Tamil Nadu is a land of ‘siddhars and saints’.

In a social media post, he said, "For culture and bhakti traditions, Tamil Nadu, truly stands out and the land is abundantly blessed by many siddhars and saints." The actor-politician said his late father was an ardent devotee of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Saradha Devi and Swami Vivekananda.

He further said that his father, who took kriya yoga deeksha from Ranchi, initiated all his children into practicing the ancient meditation technique. During the 1980s and 90s, his father used to visit Mahavatar Babaji ashram in Santhome, Chennai and do service to 'Yogi Ram Surat Kumar' at regular intervals in Tiruvannamalai, he said.

Declaring himself an "unapologetic Sanatani Hindu", Kalyan on October 3, indirectly referring to the comments made by his Tamil Nadu counterpart Udhayanidhi Stalin, said, "If anyone tries to wipe out Sanatana Dharma, let me tell you from the feet of Lord Balaji you will be wiped out." Reacting to the Janasena chief’s comments, Udhayanidhi on Friday retorted with a cryptic comment "Let's wait and see".

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