The monk who took on Mamata Banerjee: Why Opposition is seeing red over Padma Shri for Kartik Maharaj

“The criticism I got at the time made me famous. Their advertisements made me famous. Earlier, I was only known in Murshidabad but now I am known nationwide,” Kartik Maharaj told reporters at his ashram in Beldanga.

The award for Kartik Maharaj has not gone down well with the TMC or even the Congress and the CPI(M), all of whom criticised the “political nature” of the Union government’s decision. According to these parties, the monk espouses a divisive political agenda in a sensitive region that saw communal tension twice last year. In April, a month before Mamata Banerjee criticised him, there was violence in Beldanga and nearby Saktipur during the Ram Navami festival. Beldanga again saw communal tension last November after an objectionable comment on a display board near a Kartik Puja pandal led to a clash, forcing the district administration to impose prohibitory orders.

Hours before the Padma awards were announced, Kartik Maharaj addressed tribals at an event in Murshidabad district where he said, “Like Lord Ram had to take up bows and arrows to defeat Ravan, you have to resolve to keep bows and arrows at your home from now on. Only then will chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ suit you.”

“The BJP has made it clear that ‘Padma (lotus)’ loses its ‘Shri (beauty)’ at times. The BJP has proved that the list of awardees is agenda-driven and has defamed the other awardees,” said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.

His party colleague and Debra MLA Humayun Kabir, a former IPS officer, told The Indian Express, “I had respect for the Padma awards committee but not anymore after they chose Kartik Maharaj. He has not made any contribution for which he should be selected for such a prestigious honour. When I was the SP of Murshidabad, I had once summoned him in connection with a matter but he did not turn up out of fear that he would be arrested.”

Former state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that the Padma awards were being tarnished because of politics. “The BJP government has politicised one of the highest civilian awards. Those who believe in the ideology of the BJP and the RSS will be rewarded.”

“It has now become an instrument to win over political allegiance. This is an effort to glorify a person who believes in divisive politics,” said CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Selim.

Defending the monk, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP said, “He is not just a Hindu spiritual leader. He runs 13 schools and in areas where the state’s health infrastructure does not reach, he has set up hospitals.”

What Kartik Maharaj wants

The 63-year-old Kartik Maharaj, who is known for the work he does in the Beldanga area in line with the ideals of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, saw his profile rise after the controversy last year when the CM alleged that he had said that he would “not allow any TMC agent in the poll booth”. Banerjee added, “I do not consider him a saint because he is directly involved in politics and is ruining the country. I used to respect Bharat Sevashram Sangha a lot. It has been on my list of respected organisations for a long time … (But) some monks of Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram Sangha are working under the influence of BJP leaders in Delhi. Those who are looking after temples are doing a great spiritual job, but not everyone. This is not done. We respect the monks.”

In recent months, Kartik Maharaj has spoken about setting up a volunteer force to protect Hindus. This dovetails with the BJP’s politics as one of its main allegations against the TMC is that it aims to appease Muslims because of electoral reasons and that Hindus in the state are not safe under the Mamata government.

The project to set up the “Hindu Rakkhi Dal (Hindu Protection Force)” in Bengal has gained a sense of urgency for Kartik Maharaj since the arrest of an ISKCON monk in Bangladesh last November and allegations that Hindus were being systematically targeted there. At the time, the Bharat Sevashram Sangha led by the monk had marched to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission office in Kolkata and submitted a memorandum demanding that Hindus be protected.

“Swami Pranavananda Maharaj introduced the concept of Hindu Rakkhi Dal. We are now trying to revive it,” Kartik Maharaj told The Indian Express. “We are worried about the situation of Hindus in Bengal. In Bangladesh, we know how Hindus are attacked. In Bengal, too, that has already started. We have to provide security to our Hindu brothers and sisters.”

He did not comment on the criticism that the Padma Shri for him has sparked but reiterated that the “Trinamool netri (leader)” had helped him become a household name. “It was a blessing,” he said.