Two days after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha, Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Pariwar, in Haridwar declined Rajya Sabha membership.
In his statement to the media, Dr. Pandya said, “On May 4, President Pranab Mukherjee nominated me to the Rajya Sabha. But, I would humbly say to the President and the Prime Minister that now I do not wish to go to the Rajya Sabha.”
Dr. Pandya had said on May 4 that he would accept the nomination. However, he said that the Gayatri Pariwar, of which he is the head, did not want him to go to the Rajya Sabha.
“The Gayatri Pariwar comprises about 12 crore members…the atmosphere of the Parivar would be affected if I entered the Rajya Sabha. Though I would not really enter politics by accepting the membership since I would be a nominated member, but I can affect politics and people otherwise too,” he said.
Dr. Pandya said he was not in the “race” for Rajya Sabha.
“Before taking this decision I discussed the issue with the Executive Board of Shantikunj and the Board appreciated my decision. I apologise but I believe that the nation can be served from outside as well and that one does not need to be a member of the Rajya Sabha for it,” he said.
