BHOPAL: BJP accused Congress of "working to end Hindu society" after former deputy speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and veteran Congress MLA Rajendra Singh's controversial statement referring to Hindu seers as bulls.
Addressing a district level Congress meeting in his native Satna district on Wednesday in presence of state Congress president Jitu Patwari, fifth-time legislator from Amarpatan seat Singh questioned BJP's claims of over 66 crore devotees having taken dips at the recent Maha Kumbh in Prayagaraj (UP).
“The WhatsApp university has filled people’s minds that 60 crore-plus devotees went to the Maha Kumbh. Being a student of science and an engineer, I can assert on the basis of calculations, that not more than 10-12 crore people went to the Maha Kumbh. But sadhus, sanyasis, Baba Bairagi and Mahamandaleshwar were set free to go and give religious sermons, talk about Hindutva and Sanatan to campaign for the BJP. And these Saands (bulls) are grazing others' fields,” Singh said while addressing the gathering of Congress workers in Satna district in state party president Jitu Patwari’s presence.
“India’s unique identity of Sarva Dharma Sambhav (respect for all religions), secularism and socialism, besides the strength of our constitutional institutions, are all crumbling. This is a major challenge,” he added.
A 1.12 minute-long video of Singh’s controversial statement about Hindu seers went viral on Wednesday, prompting the ruling BJP to go on the offensive against Singh and the Congress.
“Congress has long been disrespecting Hindu gods and goddesses as well as Sanatan Dharma. Now a senior Congress MLA is drawing parallels between bulls and our Hindu seers and that too in the presence of his state party chief, this can’t be tolerated. Is the Congress working to end Hindu society?,” state’s cabinet minister Vishwas Sarang stated.
He added, “Groomed in Italian culture, the Congress is continuously working against the Hindus. We will not tolerate it anymore. Action needs to be taken against Rajendra Singh by the Congress, failure by the party to act against him will mean that his statement is also the authorised/official statement of the party.”
Addressing the controversy generated by his statements, Singh released a video message on Thursday to clarify on the issue.
“I'm a Sanatan Dharmi myself, who regularly offers prayers and has built as well as restored many small and big temples. I’ve even built a small dharamshala in Badrinath. I donated Rs 1.11 lakh for the construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya," Singh stated.
"I’m a firm believer of Sanatan Dharma and my statements were only about those sadhus-sanyasis-mahamandaleshwars who are campaigning for the BJP. A seer sympathising with someone is understandable, but campaigning for a particular political party isn’t proper. The use of the word Saand (bull) was a simile and not targeted against anyone. Even Lord Shiva’s endeared mount Nandi is a Saand (bull). I will criticise religious leaders of other communities also, if they do something wrong,” Singh said in the video.
Notably, the 74-year-old leader Singh is among the senior most Congress leaders of the state and also the Vidhan Sabha’s former deputy speaker. He is the brother-in-law of former MP CM and ex-union minister Late Arjun Singh and the maternal uncle of state’s ex-leader of opposition Ajay Singh ‘Rahul.’ He also headed the Congress’s election manifesto committee for the 2023 Vidhan Sabha polls.