New Delhi: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday slammed self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri for his ‘Bihar will ignite the fire of Hindu nation’ remark and said his statement has ‘no value’. Shastri, popularly known as ‘Baba Bageshwar’, had advocated India as a Hindu nation on the first day of his spiritual discourse in Bihar.
Nitish Kumar said, “In Bihar, we ensure that everyone gets the right to worship as they wish, but no one should interfere in each other’s faith. If someone is saying something on his own , then it has no value.”
RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav also said that self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri is not a saint.
Asked about Shastri inviting his family to Naubatpur for ‘Hanumant Katha’, the veteran leader said, “I refuse to believe that he is a baba.”
Dhirendra Shastri reiterates making India Hindu nation claim
On the fourth day of his ‘Hanuman Katha’, Dhirendra Shastri on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to make India a Hindu nation. He also claimed that he had come to Bihar risking his life to wake up the people of the state.
“The population of Bihar is about 13 crores and I want to tell you through this ‘Hanuman Katha’ that once you return to your respective homes, you should put up religious flags of Lord Hanuman. If five crore people of Bihar do this Shastri, who is on a five-day tour of Bihar, said applying tilak on his forehead before stepping out of his house would move India towards becoming a Hindu nation.
Shastri, in his 20s, heads the Bageshwar Dham pilgrimage site in Madhya Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Hanuman, and has been accused of duping people by claiming to read their minds.
Petition against Dhirendra Shastri for ‘hurting’ Hindu sentiments
Earlier this month, a petition was filed in a Bihar court accusing Dhirendra Shastri of hurting Hindu sentiments by claiming that he was an avatar of Lord Hanuman. The petition was filed on May 1 by a local advocate, Suraj Kumar, in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (West), Muzaffarpur.
The petitioner claimed that Bhagwan claimed to be an ‘Avatar’ of Lord Hanuman at a gathering in Rajasthan on April 24, which was an insult to the religious beliefs of Hindus. The petitioner sought prosecution of Shastri under sections 295A, 298 and 505 of the IPC, all of which deal with outraging religious sentiments.
An advocate of making India a ‘Hindu nation’, Shastri has been named in cases registered at several places for allegedly inciting communal feelings and promoting superstition.