Guntur,Tadepalli, April 23: Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma on Wednesday declared that the Vedas are the very lifeblood of Indian culture and Hindu Dharma, and called upon every citizen to take responsibility for promoting Vedic education as part of preserving Sanatana Dharma.

He was speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the Krishna-Guntur Mandala Veda Vidwat Pravardhaka Pariksha Sabha, held under the presidentship of Chintapalli Subrahmanya Sharma at the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Kolanukonda village of Tadepalli Mandal. Borra Radhakrishna, Chairman of the Vijayawada Durga Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam, was among the chief guests at the function.

Expressing deep concern over what he described as concerted efforts by certain foreign and internal forces to undermine Hindu culture and traditions in the country, the Union Minister stressed the urgent need to safeguard Vedic knowledge and pass it on to future generations. He observed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Hindu community across the world had been able to hold its head high with pride.

Taking a pointed dig at previous governments, he alleged that they had encouraged religious conversions for electoral and political gains, and noted that the phenomenon of 'Ghar Wapsi' had now created conditions for people to return to the fold of Sanatana Dharma. He called upon students who had pursued Vedic learning to play a pivotal role not only in social and national development but also in the protection of Sanatana Dharma.

Certificates were subsequently presented to students who had passed the Vidwat and Pravardhaka examinations with distinction.

Among those present were Vijayawada Durga temple Sthanacharyulu Vishnubhatla Sivaprasad Sharma, Vedic scholars Chintapalli Anjaneya Ghanapathi, Chilla Balayya Somayajulu, Chintapalli Narasimhamurthi Avadhani, and Kuppa Janardhan Sharma, besides a large number of Vedic students.