New Delhi: Two days after his statement that the next-door pundit can give astronomical predictions, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that he was “orthodox” and believed that life and death are pre-destined.

Speaking at an event of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), he told the jawans that they should consider themselves blessed as god has given them the opportunity to save and help those who are struck in such calamities.

“There may be a controversy on this or I may be called orthodox but a person like me, who believes in the existence of god, it is our firm belief that life and death are pre-destined and it will happen when it has to,” he said.

Acknowledging the efforts of the NDRF personnel who reach out to any person trapped or stuck in a tragedy like floods or earthquake and “help them out,” Mr Singh told the jawans that they should consider their task as a “big blessing of God” as they have been empowered as a “medium” by the almighty to serve and rescue someone who is dying or trapped in a calamity.

Meanwhile, making his views clear that the nature should not be plundered in a “blind race for development,” the Union minister said, “We know that the nature is losing stability as since some time we have been plundering in the blind race of development. We should take from the nature only up to the limit what it can replenish back and nothing more,” he added.