Senior Congress member and chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections Kamal Nath defended his participation in a religious event headed by Bageshwar Dham chief priest Dhirender Shastri aka Baba Bageshwar, infamous for delivering communally charged speeches against Muslims and intensifying Hindutva sentiments.
Talking to press reporters in Indore on Monday, August 7, Nath supported Shahstri’s demand for an Akhand Hindu Rashtra.
“Everyone has their own views. Data shows 82 per cent are Hindus in our country, then what nation is this? If 82 per cent are Hindus? I am secular. I am what is written in our Constitution,” he said.
Owaisi compares Kamal Nath to Mohan Bhagawat
Responding to Kamal Nath’s statement, All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that he was speaking along the same lines as RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat.
“India was never a Hindu nation, nor will it ever be, Insha Allah,” Owaisi said on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP also taunted the Congress by adding that “mohabbat ki dukaan par nafrat ki thaskari ho rahi hai.”
Owaisi also questioned the Congress’ right to call other parties the B-team of the BJP.
Earlier, Shashtri was invited by Kamal Nath for a three-day katha (religious reading) in the former’s constituency Chhindwara on August 5.
The senior Congress leader had described the 27-year-old Shashtri as a ‘symbol of spiritual power’.
“Maharaj ji, don’t think you can get rid of me in the future. There are different types of relationships. But the relationship between Maharaj and I, is the relationship of Hanuman. I am a Hindu, I say this with a lot of pride. I feel happy that the people of Chhindwara, were granted this good fortune, that you came here. But in the end I want to say, you leave us hungry. Please come again, but our hunger won’t be satiated,” Nath said at the conclusion of the katha.
On being asked about the ongoing debate about the Gyanvapi mosque, Nath, without hesitation said that it was a Shiva temple.
With the upcoming assembly elections, the Congress is putting up a tough fight against the BJP adopting measures to appease Hindu voters.
