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Kalicharan Maharaj arrested for derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi
On December 26, Kalicharan Maharaj hailed Nathuram Godse for killing Mahatma Gandhi and said people should elect a Hindu leader as the head of the government to protect the religion.
A religious leader, Kalicharan Maharaj, has been arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho days after he made a provocative speech against Mahatma Gandhi in Raipur, news agency ANI reported on Thursday.
On December 26, Kalicharan Maharaj hailed Nathuram Godse for killing Mahatma Gandhi and said people should elect a Hindu leader as the head of the government to protect the religion.
“Kalicharan Maharaj was staying in a rented accommodation near Bageshwar Dham, 25km from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. Raipur Police arrested him at 4 am today. By late evening, the police team will reach Raipur with the accused,” Prashant Agarwal, Raipur’s superintendent of police, told ANI.
A case has been registered against him in Raipur's Tikrapara Police Station.
Delivering a speech at Dharma Sansad organised in Raipur, he also used an abusive word against Gandhi.
“What is our prime duty - to save religion. We should elect a staunch Hindu king (leader) in the government irrespective of any party (he/she) belongs to…” the religious leader said.
"The target of Islam is to capture nation through politics. In front of our eyes, they had captured in 1947 (referring to partition)...They had earlier captured Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. They captured Bangladesh and Pakistan through politics...I salute Nathuram Godse that he killed Gandhi," Kalicharan added.
He received widespread criticism from the ruling Congress government in Chhattisgarh. Sushil Anand Shukla, the state Congress communication wing head said that the use of such words against Mahatma Gandhi was highly objectionable.
Congress leader Pramod Dubey filed a complaint against Kalicharan Maharaj on December 26 and the state police registered a first information report (FIR) against the religious leader.
This is not the first time that Kalicharan has made provocative speeches.
On December 19, he made derogatory comments about Christians and Muslims at an event in Pune, prompting the police to register a case against him and five others.
(With agency inputs)
