New Delhi: Slamming the remarks made by Sant Kalicharan Maharaj against Rahul Gandhi at a function in Raipur. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today quoted the Father of the Nation that his thoughts cannot be imprisoned.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came after a section of Hindu religious leaders sang paeans to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, at a religious congregation in Raipur on Sunday.
“You can chain me, torture me, you can destroy this body, but you cannot imprison my thoughts,” the Rahul Gandhi said quoting Mahatma Gandhi.
During the conclusion of the two-day ‘dharma sansad’ in Raipur, Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj had used an “abusive” word against the Father of the Nation and asked people to elect a staunch Hindu leader as the head of the government in order to protect the religion.
In his speech – clips of which have been widely circulated on social media, Kalicharan Maharaj declares that the aim of Islam is to capture the nation through politics. He also declared “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi destroyed the country… salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him”.
Kalicharan Maharaj demanded people elect a “staunch Hindu leader” to “protect” Hinduism.
A furious Mahant Ramsunder Das – from Chhattisgarh’s Dudhadhari temple – was quick to protest, pointing out that Mahatma Gandhi had sacrificed his life for the country and that such abusive language could not be used at his expense.
“Mahatma Gandhi has been abused from this stage and I oppose it. This is not sanatan dharma nor should such a thing happen on a platform like a ‘parliament of religions’. I want to ask the organiser… why didn’t you raise an objection when such words were being used,” he asked.
“This country – where 30 crore Muslims live, where around 15 crore Christians live… will it become a ‘Hindu rashtra’ if you call it so?” Mahant Das also said as he walked off stage.
“I do not belong to this event…” he declared.
The head of the ruling Congress’ communication wing, Sushil Anand Shukla, was quoted by news agency PTI as saying: “The use of abusive words against Mahatma Gandhi is highly objectionable. Kalicharan should first prove that he is a saint.”
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was scheduled to attend the event’s closing ceremony, but he skipped the event.
This follows controversial comments from other Hindu religious leaders at two recent conclaves in Delhi and Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, where calls for “ethnic cleansing” were made.
In Haridwar, at another ‘dharam sansad’ that was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, a religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence with his incendiary speeches, there were open calls for genocide and the use of weapons against Muslims.
Earlier, controversial UP priest Yati Narsinghananda Giri had praised Nathuram Godse as the symbol of truth and religion.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
