Asaram Bapu gives fillip to Advani dharna

Apart from Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Kalraj Mishra, Yashwant Sinha and Sahib Singh Verma were also present at the dharna-cum-fast at Patel Chowk. New entrants to the BJP such as Najma Heptullah, Arif Mohammad Khan and Varun Gandhi were present too.

The main theme of the protest was captured in the slogan: ‘‘Hinduon ka apmaan, nahin sahega Hindustan (India won’t tolerate the humiliation of Hindus)’’. Speaker after speaker said the arrest of the Shankaracharya was a calculated insult to Hinduism and it was time for the Hindu samaj to save their religion from such assaults.

But it was the unexpected presence of Asaram Bapu that gave a fillip to the protest. By late afternoon, as word spread among his followers that their guru was in town, a large number of apolitical men and women reached the venue, chanting ‘‘Hari Hari Om’’.

Advani himself, who was to speak last, gave up that slot to Asaram Bapu. Advani said he was overwhelmed when the guru called him last night and offered to join the BJP dharna.

In a speech that touched upon the cultural unity and religious essence of India, Advani said in his 53 years as a politician he had witnessed only two ‘‘anhoni (unimaginable)’’ events — the imposition of Emergency and the arrest of the seer. In both cases, the Communists were backing the government’s action, he said.

Holding the Tamil Nadu and the Centre (since DMK was part of the UPA) equally responsible for the arrest, Advani said this struggle was as important as the one launched against the Emergency. He also warned that the BJP would prolong its protest if the authorities extended the Shankarachaya’s term in police custody.

In his address, Asaram Bapu — whose voice rarely rose above a whisper — said he had done no favour by attending the dharna. He was here to express the anguish felt by ‘‘crores of people’’. BJP leaders were visibly heartened when the guru indicated that he would sit on dharna tomorrow as well. From the BJP’s side, M.M. Joshi will lead the hunger strike tomorrow.