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RJD leader slams Dhirendra Shastri over ‘pagal’ remark: ‘This Baba is abusing Biharis’
Dhirendra Shastri, popularly known as ‘Bageshwar Baba’, arrived in Patna on May 13 for holding a five-day congregation.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav on Tuesday hit out at preacher Dhirendra Shastri alleging that he abused Biharis by calling them ‘pagal’, or mad. When asked for his comments on Dhirendra Shastri, who is in Patna for a five-day congregation, Tej Pratap Yadav said he only has faith in Devraha Baba, a Siddha Yogi saint.
“I don't know any other Baba,” Yadav said.
When a reporter referred to the massive congregation, Tej Pratap Yadav highlighted the organiser's mismanagement which led to hundreds of devotees falling sick during the 'Divya Darbar' session of Dhirendra Shastri in Patna's Naubatpur.
“This Baba is abusing Biharis and calling them ‘pagal’," he added.
Responding to Shastri's remarks that there was no ‘Ram Raj’ in Bihar, Yadav said, “There's 'Krishna Raj' and 'Mahagathbandhan Raj' in Bihar...This politics is being done to divide the country.”
Shastri stoked controversy during his ‘Divya Darbar’ session by calling his followers ‘pagal’ as he had to cancel aarti citing concerns over the crowd beyond the capacity of the venue.
“Bahot jyada bheed ho gayi hai, apaar bheed ho gayi...pagal hi pagal aa gaye hain (There is too much crowd, the crowd has become huge, the madmen have come).”
According to the organizers of the event, more than three lakh devotees reached the venue for the event which was beyond the expected count. The temperature in Patna was over 42 degrees on Sunday which resulted in many devotees falling sick due to the scorching heat. After the incident, Baba Bagheshwar Dham's Dhirendra Shastri requested the devotees to avoid coming in large numbers as the temperature remains high in the district.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ram Kripal Yadav blamed Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar-led government for mismanagement of the private event.
"The devotees came in large numbers and the police were not able to control the crowd. There was no drinking water facility arranged inside the venue, all this clearly shows the state government's mismanagement", he said.
