Following Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, Dhirendra Krishna Shashtri’s remark on Saint Sai Baba, an FIR has been registered in Mumbai. A Shiv Sena faction Yuva Sena leader submitted a written complaint against Shashtri.
Shashtri while answering questions by devotees said, Sai Baba can be called a Saint or Fakir but he cannot be called a Bhagwan. No vulture can be a lion, he added.
For his remark, the Yuva Sena leader Rahul Narain Kanal, registered an FIR against him at Bandra police station on April 3.
As per the letter, Kanal wrote, “I came across a video excerpt of a self-styled Baba prominently addressed as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar in which the said Baba in his typical fashion addresses a large assembly of his purported devotees and responds to queries from the audience.” (ANI)
“One of Shastri’s devotees queries him on the persona of Sai Baba’s worship being compared to other deities of Hindu religion. Astoundingly, Shastri responds to the question of his devotee in the manner most schemingly veiled with an ulterior motive and denigrates the honour, adorability and invocation of Sai Baba,” he added further.
Such derogatory remarks on the reverence of Sai Baba not only deserve condemnation but also warrant for criminal action under section 153-A and other offences of IPC as it is equivalent to spreading hatred and enmity within the community and sub-sections, the letter read. (ANI)
Notably, Shashtri was at a programme in Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh where a man identified as Shailendra Rajput questioned him about the worship of Sai Baba.
Dhirendra Shastri said, “Shankaracharya ji of our Dharma has not given Sai Baba the place of a deity. Shankaracharya is the Prime Minister of the Hindu Dharma.
Therefore, obeying him is the duty of every Sanatani. Any saint of our Dharma, be it Goswami Tulsidas ji or Surdas ji, is a saint, a great man, a Yug Purush, a Kalpa Purush but not a God.”
“People have their faith. We cannot hurt anyone’s faith. Sai Baba can be a saint, a fakir but cannot be a God”, Dhirendra Shastri added.
He further said that Bhagwan Ram is the most revered God in the world. He is the creator of the world. Who does not believe in him cannot be believed by anyone. Devotees have protested against the statue of Sai Baba in the temples of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati Maharaj. Shankaracharya ji holds the highest position of Sanatan Dharma. Therefore, Sanatanis should obey them.
Following Shastri’s remark, many politicians including Uddhav Thackeray and Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the statement. They said these remarks are hurtful to the sentiment of Sai Baba’s believers.
Also, Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil slammed the Bagheswar Dham chief over his controversial remarks and demanded that legal action be taken against him.
Not the only FIR against Shashtri
Two FIRs against the claimed godman Shahstri have been registered in Rajasthan.
On March 23, while addressing the crowd at Gandhi ground in Udaipur, Shashtri asked the people to install saffron flags in place of green flags installed at the Kumbhalgarh fort of Rajasthan.
Shashtri allegedly said from the stage that, there are as many as a hundred of green flags installed at the Kumbhalgarh fort, there should be saffron flags instead. “Hindus don’t fear, I will make sure that saffron flags are installed at the fort. Do you want the saffron flag to be installed there?”, asked Shashtri.
He also recalled the Kanhaiya Lal murder incident who was killed by Islamists for Blasphemy, following the Nupur Sharma fiasco. He added, ‘They can kill one Kanhaiya, now we have a Kanhaiya at every Hindu house’.
The Udaipur police officials said Pandit Dhirendra Shastri used inflammatory words which heightened disputes between communities. After this statement, some youths tried to create a ruckus at Kumbhalgarh Fort on the night of March 23 and five of them have been arrested. A case has been registered against all of them at Kelwada police station.
In the same case, an FIR has been registered against Shashtri at the Kelwada police station of the Rajsamund district of Rajasthan. Earlier a FIR was lodged at the Hathipol police station.
