Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said the name of Ram should not be associated with any religion, and that attacking anyone on the basis of caste or religion was “not good”.

“Ramrajya is governance minus fear, corruption and discrimination, and for this everyone should come above caste, religion and politics, and unite,” Naidu said, according to PTI. “All those living in the country are brothers, irrespective of their belief and religion. Attacking anyone on the basis of caste and religion is not good.”

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Naidu was speaking at a function in Lucknow to mark Uttar Pradesh Diwas. “The name of Lord Ram should not be related with any particular religion,” he said. “He should be seen as an ideal person. Hinduism is not a religion but a lifestyle and that is why India is named Hindustan.”

“For making the country developed, we need a stable government and good atmosphere,” Naidu said. “For this, we all should shed narrow politics of caste, religion and money...We have to maintain Indianness and follow ‘sarve bhavantu sukhinah’ [happiness to all].”