Patna: Self-styled godman Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s proposed visit to Bihar has triggered a war of words in the eastern state, with central and state ministers, legislators, and leaders sharply divided over the ‘miracle-maker’ from Madhya Pradesh.
Shastri is scheduled to deliver sermons at Naubatpur located about 20 km away from Patna from 13 May to 17 May. The head priest of Bageshwar Dham in Gadha, Madhya Pradesh draws large crowds of followers at his ‘sabhas’.
“If this so-called Baba says anything that spoils the communal harmony, I would like to remind him that even Lal Krishna Advani was arrested here,” Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar, referring to the Lalu Prasad government stopping Rath Yatra in 1990.
Even in the early 2000s, when Lalu Prasad was in power, Pravin Togadia of the Vishva Hindu Parishad was not allowed to enter Bihar while events of the VHP did not get permission from the administration.
Lalu’s eldest son and minister Tej Pratap Yadav even warned that he would not allow the controversial godman to enter Bihar. “Baba is forgetting whose government exists in Bihar,” he remarked Wednesday.
The leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have launched a counter attack against the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government. “We will be there to ensure that Baba Dhirendra Krishna Shastri ‘sreligious discourse takes place unhindered. We dare Tej Pratap Yadav to try and stop him,” BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul told the media.
Others who came out in support of Shastri include Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Ashwini Choubey as well as BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav. Naubatpur — the venue of Shastri’s programme — falls under the Pataliputra parliamentary constituency of Ram Kripal Yadav.
At Naubatpur, the event will be held in an area spread over 200 acre to accommodate the massive crowds that are expected to attend the sermons of Shastri.
“Gandhi Maidan in Patna will be too small for the mega event. We are estimating the participation of over 2 lakh devotees. But even without our invitation, groups of people from every surrounding and far-off villages have informed us that they will be coming,” Raj Shekhar, the secretary of the organising committee of the event, told ThePrint.
Shekhar said that he did not know about any controversy surrounding the self-styled godman. “We have invited everyone to participate in the event…even Lalu ji, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, We have even invited CPI-ML MLAs to participate,” he remarked.
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Controversies surrounding Shastri
Known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, 26-year-old Shastri has courted controversy on several occasions. A case was registered against him in Udaipur, Rajasthan in March, when he purportedly called for a Hindu Rashtra at a ‘Dharma Sabha’.
In January, he reportedly cut short his stay in Nagpur when rationalists challenged him to prove the magical powers he claims to possess such as predicting the future of his devotees through paper chits.
The same month Shastri was again in the news when he promised a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ to his followers if they supported him. This was when he addressed a gathering at Raipur.
Why Bihar govt is at unease
After communal violence broke out during Ram Navami in Bihar, the BJP has been targeting the Nitish Kumar government for following the path of Muslim appeasement and targeting only the Hindus.
Violence was reported on 31 March and 1 April in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif, the district headquarters of Rohtas and Nalanda districts. The Sasaram administration recently arrested Jawahar Prasad, a five-time former BJP MLA, for inciting communal violence.
At Sarsaram, BJP state chief Samrat Choudhary sat on a day-long dharna Wednesday alleging that the Kushwahas were being targeted by the Nitish government, after Jawahar Prasad surrendered before a district court in connection with the communal violence.
Both Choudhary and Prasad are from the politically important Kushwaha community.
“The state is already on the edge and a controversial statement by Shastri in the garb of a religious sermon can make things worse. Shastri is capable of delivering statements which can incite hatred,” an MLA from the ruling Janata Dal (United) told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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