Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday that people with vested interests have twisted the ideology of Swami Vivekananda for political benefits. He also called upon people to imbibe the spirit of secularism.

Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the National Youth Week organised to celebrate Vivekananda’s 154th birth anniversary, he said noble thoughts of the philosopher-saint put the idea of humanity above any religion. “Vivekananda did not reject religion. But he was not tied to it either. He sought to reform it and stressed on spirituality,” he said.

Quoting Vivekananda, Siddaramaiah said it was the responsibility of the youth to fight social evils. “Vivekananda never lost focus on the downtrodden. He knew that national development would remain a dream if untouchability, which he described as a psychological disease, and other systems of exploitation prevail in society.”

Addressing thousands of students from several districts who had come to participate in the programme, the chief minister said the state government would take initiatives to improve the quality of education.

Minister for Higher Education Basavaraja Rayareddy said the upcoming budget has many initiatives aimed at youths. He said the planned International School of Economics will come up soon.

Earlier, Swami Atmajnanannda of Sri Ramakrishnashram, Mysuru, the chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues offered floral tributes to a portrait of Vivekananda.

The Higher Education Department, which had organised the programme, had arranged buses to bring more than 10,000 students and staff from across the state.