Bageshwar Dham's Dhirendra Shastri Sparks 'Hindu Rashtra' Row in Bihar, Gets Flak from JD(U) And RJD

On the first day of his spiritual discourse in Bihar, Bageshwar Dham’s Dhirendra Shastri advocated for India to be declared a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. In the middle of the Hanumant Katha preaching, he said: “One day a saint asked me if a Hindu nation is possible since I am advocating for the same. I smiled and replied that India is already a Hindu nation, it’s just that the announcement is pending.”

Several top BJP leaders were also present to hear Dhirendra Krishna Shastri speak on the first day. Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Ashwini Choubey, former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, MP Manoj Tiwary, Ramkripal Yadav, leader of opposition in the Bihar legislative assembly Vijay Sinha and Bihar BJP president Samrat Chaudhary were present at the programme.

On day 3, he said that the insult of Ramcharitmanas, Gita, and Puranas will not be tolerated now. “Now saints will not be insulted. If you want to live in India, you have to say Sita-Ram,” he said.

Shastri on the fourth day of the Hanumant Katha went a step further. “The population of Bihar is 13 crores. Hindu Rashtra will start from Bihar only. Even if only 5 crore people hang the flag of their religion at their homes and start applying tilak on their forehead, India will move towards becoming a Hindu nation.” Scorching heat, dust, and cramped space couldn’t stop the devotees from different parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Nepal from thronging the venue.

On all four days, over 5 lakh devotees flocked and registered their presence in the three huge pandals set up in Taret Math in Naubatpur block of Patna district on the outskirts of the state capital. Thousands listened to the ‘katha’ from outside the pandal.

Politics on ‘Hindu Rashtra’ remarks

Chief minister Nitish Kumar after ignoring the invitation to the mega event, responded to the Hindu Rashtra remarks by Shastri. “The Constitution was made after fighting the freedom struggle. How can we change the nomenclature in the Constitution? How can one change the name of the country? If anyone says something, it has no value. Those who are speaking today, were they born during the freedom struggle? All religions should be accepted and respected. I wonder how someone can speak like this. There are multiple religions in this country, each one should be respected. I have always helped people of all religions,” he said to the media.

Janata Dal (United) MLC Khalid Anwar said, “Bageshwar Dham Baba should not do politics. Action should be taken against those who divide society in the name of religion. How can anyone say that India will be made a Hindu nation? The country is governed by the Constitution, not by Baba. Action should be taken against those who threaten in the name of religion.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal minister Tej Pratap Yadav who was upset with the visit of the self-styled godman in Bihar had a peculiar reaction. “We do not know any ‘Aba Baba Taba’, we only believe in Devraha Baba because I was born with his blessings. Baba Bageshwar has insulted Biharis by calling them insane (pagal), for this Bihar will never forgive him,” he said.

RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad’s younger son and deputy CM of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, had earlier refused to attend the Hanumant Katha. “We keep getting a lot of invitations here. Where there is good for the public, we only go there. At present, Nitish ji and I are engaged in the welfare of Bihar,” said Tejashwi.

Lalu Prasad before flying back to Delhi from Patna commented on Dhirendra Shastri. “Is he really a Baba?” he asked.

The BJP has targeted CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav for not Shastri’s event.

Giriraj Singh said, “These people are very busy and have no time to attend Hanumant Katha. But these people have all the time to attend iftars and wear topi.”

Posters of Bageshwar Dham Baba Blackened

Almost all the posters of ‘Bageshwar Dham Baba on the streets of Patna were coloured with black spray. Some posters were torn too in the dark. The miscreants even wrote ‘420’ and ‘Chor’ on the face.

Posters were also damaged on day one of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s spiritual discourse, but they were installed again. The BJP is pointing fingers at RJD “goons”, while Rashtriya Janata Dal said that it was the work of the Bharatiya Janata Party workers to get political gains.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav told News18, “The case of blackening the poster of Baba Bageshwar is a conspiracy of the BJP. The government will get it thoroughly investigated. CCTV footage will be checked. Action will be taken against the guilty.”

Meanwhile, all the BJP leaders have gathered to accompany preacher Dhirendra Shastri on his last day of Hanumant Katha. The Baba will be leaving Patna at 9 pm on Wednesday after a huge success of his event. He has promised to come to Bihar again in September.

About Dhirendra Shastri

Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, also known as “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar” and “Bageshwar Dham Baba”, is the peethadhish (head) of Bageshwar Dham, a pilgrimage site in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. He claims to read people’s minds. The 26-year-old self-styled godman also says he has “miraculous powers” using which he opens a parcha or chit, which is a prediction of a person’s sufferings and the solutions to them.

He talks about “ghar wapsi”, ending religious conversions, and boycotting those who speak against the Sanatana Dharma, the narratives often invoked by members of right-wing organisations including the BJP.

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has supported Shastri, with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and home minister Narottam Mishra being regular visitors to his sermons and often sharing the dais with him.

In Chhattisgarh, just ahead of assembly elections, the self-styled godman has stirred up a political controversy by pushing the religious conversion issue.

People had not heard of Shastri until he hit the headlines in December last year when the Nagpur chapter of late rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s anti-superstition organisation Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti challenged his “miraculous powers”. He refused to take up the challenge and asked the anti-superstition organisation to instead come and meet him in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.