The revenue of self-styled godman and businessman “Baba” Ramdev’s company, Patanjali, has soared under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. The company’s revenue has increased from $156 million (approximately Rs 1,011 crore) in the financial year that ended in 2013 to over $322 million (approximately Rs 2,087 crore) in March 2015.
A Reuters report said Ramdev’s company benefited from more than $46 million (Rs 297 crore) in discounts through land acquisitions in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, since Narendra Modi assumed office.
Its report was based on a review of state government documents, interviews with officials and real estate estimates, Reuters said. A new ministry has given the company official approval, the report said.
The report said the company’s association with the Modi-led administration exposes the “inner workings of influence and money”. Three weeks after Ramdev and Modi had shared the stage during an election rally in Delhi in March, a Ramdev-controlled trust released a YouTube video with BJP members posing with a signed “Shapath Patra” (oath). The oath, examined by Reuters, includes vows to protect cows, which are sacred to followers of Hinduism, the report said.
The document included eight other pledges which prioritised transforming Indian with a “swadeshi” outlook. The five signatories seen in the video included the current ministers of foreign affairs, finance, internal security and transportation. None of the ministers responded to the news agency’s questions about the pledge.
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