The war of words between the ruling and Opposition leaders in Bihar is getting murkier by by day over the scheduled visit of the self styled godman 26-year-old Dhirendra Krishna Shastri (Garg), popularly known as “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar”, in Bihar next week.
Shashtri is scheduled to reach Patna on May 12. He will be leaving for his venue at Naubatpur, barely 20 km from Patna. The event will be held in an area spread over 200 acres to accommodate lakhs of crowd that are expected to attend the “pravachan” (sermons) of Shashtri from May 13-17.
Bihar officials and the ruling seven-party alliance members are apprehensive about the “danger of spreading communal tension”. “We have crossed our fingers. Bihar’s two districts – Nalanda and Rohtas – are yet to recover from the communal violence that took place during the recently concluded Ramnavami festival,” they said.
The Opposition BJP leaders, on the other hand, are already accusing the ruling Mahagathbandhan of ‘Muslim appeasement’ policy.
A graduate, Shashtri is said to be the “peethadhish” of the Bageshwardham Sarkar, a religious pilgrimage site in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. According to his followers, he organises “Divya Durbar” where it is believed that he heals all physical, mental, economic and social sufferings of common people with his “divine powers” which he got from “Lord Hanuman”.
Laloo’s elder son Taj Pratap Yadav, who is also minister of forest, environment and climate change has threatened to stage a protest if Shashtri’s aim is to spread communal tension in Bihar. “I will stage a protest at the airport itself. Shashtri can enter Bihar only if he sends across the message of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian brotherhood,” he said.
Recently, Tej has launched an outfit called “dharmanirpeksha (Secular) Sevak Sangh” (DSS) a youth organisation, to counter the RSS in Bihar. He has been made the president of the DSS.
Tej Pratap is not alone, RJD’s state president Jagdanand said that the people like Shastri should be put behind bars. Shashtri is a hooligan and accused the BJP of destroying the faith of the people of the country, he said.
Bihar Education Minister Chandrashekhar recently told the media, “If this so-called baba says anything that spoils the communal harmony, I would like to remind him that even BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani was arrested here.”
Last night, the state Cooperative Minister Surendra Prasad Yadav accused Shashtri of promoting witchcraft in the guise of Divya durbar in which young girls used to perform dance in a vulgar way which is not acceptable in our society. Yadav, while addressing a rally at Fatehpur block in the Gaya district, pointed out that ordinary people, young poor girls are being cheated, looted and exploited in the name of religion.
To counter the leaders of Mahagathbandhan, Union minister Giriraj Singh dared the leaders to stop him from coming to Patna. The organisers had applied for a space for him in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, which the administration has refused. “Bihar government may have denied space in Gandhi maidan, but no one can dare to stop him landing in Patna for a religious programme,” the minister said.
BJP MP from Pataliputra parliamentary constituency Ram Kripal Yadav, one of the main organizers of the event, said. “We are strong ‘sipahi’ of Sanatan dharma. Those who will try to obstruct his event will vanish.”
The tent management has been done by a local Muslim family. Another Muslim, Ansar Ahmad, who is engaged in the flower business, has been assigned to do the florist arrangement during his five day stay in Naubatpur. “I am feeling proud that Shashtriji is addressing sermons at Naubatpur which falls under my Parliamentary constituency. We all are feeling blessed,” Yadav told a group of the media.
People feel that the main reason for Shashtriji’s popularity is said to be videos of his “kathas” (stories) on social media. His impending Bihar visit has gone viral on social media by his scores of followers in and around the country.