Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said it is disappointing not to see the name of Baba Ramdev in the list of fake gurus issued by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, an apex body of Hindu sadhus, on Sunday.
The list included names of Sant Rampal, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Asaram among others and comes close on the heels of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Haryana sentencing Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for the rape of two of his former disciples.
"Respected Akhara Parishad have not listed Ramdev in the list. It is disappointing. He is conning the whole nation and selling fake products in name of genuine ones," Singh tweeted.
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Ramdev today said it is for the people to decide who to trust by looking at someone's appearance and behaviour.
"The people of our nation need to understand by their (Babas') appearance; we get to know their intentions. If they are fake or truly a saint. In our culture, we worship character not the image. If we believe in Karma, then no fake baba can influence anyone," Ramdev told the media.
The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.
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While Asaram is in jail in connection with a sexual assault case, his son Narayan Sai, also booked in a similar case, is out on bail.
Rampal is behind bars, facing trial in a number of cases relating to violence.
Ramdev's million dollar enterprise, Patanjali, has been accused of selling substandard products.
In April, the defence Canteen Stores Department declared the popular Amla juice as 'unfit for consumption' following the test reports.
Before that, Nepal's drug administration had asked Patanjali Ayurveda to recall six "substandard products".
"Shivlingi Beej was found adulterated with 31.68% foreign matter, whereas, the Amla juice was low on pH value," it was revealed.
