Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Feb 19: Controversial Swami Nityananda of Bidadi, who was in the news for his alleged sex scandal, has created a new controversy by saying that the deaths of soldiers in the battlefield amounted to 'suicide'.

"The killing of people by soldiers is considered as murder in divine circles, and when the soldier dies in the battlefield, it is like committing suicide," Nityananda said while delivering a sermon on Thursday, February 18.

When this controversial statement was telecast in some television channels, some pro-Kannada organisations held protests condemning the irresponsible attack targeted at the patriotic soldiers. They demanded that Nityananda should be ousted from the region for his remarks.

After realising that his remarks would snowball into greater problem, Nityananda made a statement later, refuting the earlier version, and said, "I did not speak anything with disrespect to soldiers. In fact, I hold them in high esteem. The nation is safe because of them."