Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti hails Narendra Modi as a 'yug purush'

Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who had recently triggered a major controversy with her remarks, today praised Prime Minister Narendra terming him as a 'yug purush' (man of the era).

"I have come to this land (Gujarat), which belongs to the 'Iron Man of India' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Bapuji (Mahatma Gandhi)...This is also the land, which gave us a 'yug purush'...our Prime minister. I have come here to bow before this land," Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told reporters in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of a function.

Replying to a query on the Ram temple issue, she only said, "They will build the Ram temple, we will not build it," and refused to comment further. She was here on Sunday to take part in a three-day 'Bhakti Yog Vedant Sammelan', inaugurated on Saturday in the presence of right-wing Hindu leader Sadhvi Ritambhara. The Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, courted a major controversy for allegedly making communal remarks and using unparliamentary language while addressing a rally in New Delhi earlier this month.

Her remarks caused a huge embarrassment to the NDA government with the Opposition holding protests in both the Houses of Parliament, forcing her to tender an apology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed a "strong disapproval" over her comments while making a statement in Rajya Sabha.