Baba, or black sheep? As fast-rising seer draws crowds and BJP leaders in Patna, Nitish slams ‘Hindu Rashtra’ call

With BJP leaders making a beeline for Shastri’s event since he landed, Nitish hit back, saying that the country has a Constitution and no one can “change the name of our nation”.

RJD state president Jagdanand Singh demanded that the Nitish government, of which the party is a part, arrest Shastri in the same manner as BJP leader L K Advani was arrested during his rath yatra. RJD supremo and then CM Lalu Prasad was instrumental in Advani’s arrest.

Shastri, the “peethadhish” of ‘Baba Bageshwar Dham’ in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, and a self-styled godman, has been drawing huge crowds at his Hanuman Katha, being held on the outskirts of Patna.

Said to be around 26 years of age, Shastri claims his “power” is the ability to deduce a person’s problem is by just looking at them. He was virtually unknown before he was challenged by the anti-superstition organisation founded by Narendra Dabholkar (who was killed by Hindu right-wing activists) in December last year over his “miracles”. Shastri had dodged an invite from the organisation to prove his claims.

In MP, Shastri has acquired political legitimacy, with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a regular presence at his events. Shastri is reportedly going to head next to poll-bound Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh as part of his sermons tour.

On Tuesday, at one such session, he said: “Aisa lagta hai ki mera sankalp Bihar se hi poora hoga. Aaj ek sankalp lekar ghar jaana. Jis din Bihar rajya ke 13 crore logon mein se 5 cr bhi ghar se tilak lagakar niklenge, usi din Bharat Hindu rashtra ki aur agrasar ho jayega (It looks that my resolve for a Hindu Rashtra would be fulfilled from the land of Bihar. Leave home today with a resolve – the day even five crore of Bihar’s 13 crore population walk out of their homes applying tilak, India would be on course to becoming a Hindu Rashtra).”

In his reply, the Bihar CM said: “We respect all religions. People are free to practise their religion. But the one who is talking (about Hindu Rashtra) born when the country was named? Even I was born after Independence.”

Nitish added that in a multi-religious country like India, every faith is respected. “Kisi ko interfere nahin… Koi kuchh bol raha hai to apni marzi se bol raha hai (There should be no interference by others… If anyone is saying anything otherwise, they are speaking for themselves),” he said.

BJP state president Samrat Choudhary, while dodging questions regarding Shastri’s Hindu Rashtra statement, said: “Those who have faith in Sanatan dharma will attend Baba Dhirendra Shastri’s durbar… I am surprised at the JD(U)’s sense of religion. The party has been conducting mutton rice feasts to woo voters.”

On the RJD, Choudhary said the party that had “threatened to oppose” Shastri is doing it precisely to appease Muslims.

Among the BJP leaders who have dropped in for Shastri’s sessions, or were present to welcome him in Patna, were Union ministers Giriraj Singh, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Ram Kripal Yadav, BJP state president Samrat Choudhary and BJP leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari drove Shastri to the Patna hotel where he is staying.

No Opposition leader though has so far turned up at Shastri’s “Hanumant katha”, despite invites being sent to both Nitish and Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

The organisers have dismissed this, saying people have been told not to crowd the venue due to the heat. In the initial three days, an estimated two lakh people gathered at Shashtri’s function.

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav was the first to oppose Shastri, warning him against stoking Hindu-Muslim divide at his Patna event before he landed.

However, Tej Pratap has been silent since Shastri arrived.