Prashant Kishor Lashes Out At Bageshwar Baba For Demanding 'Hindu Rashtra'

New Delhi: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has lashed out at Bageshwar Dham’s Acharya Dhirendra Shastri aka Bageshwar Baba for advocating India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

Prashant Kishor slammed Dhirendra Shastri after he demanded a constitutional amendment to declare India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

Lashing out at Bageshwar Baba, Prashant Kishor said that the country should be run according to the constitution and not according to the diktats of babas, though he also mentioned everyone has the right to their views in a democracy.

"But it must be remembered that laws governing the country are framed in Parliament, the members of which are elected by the people. Things are not decided in discourses (darbar) of babas,” PTI quoted Prashant Kishor as saying.

“The Constitution, which has been guided by the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi, clearly states that India shall be a secular country. The words of a Baba does not carry greater weight than Gandhi,” he said.

Prashant Kishor also added that some BJP leaders have been supporting Bageshwar Baba and his demands thinking it will boost their electoral gains.

Bageshwar Baba demands Hindu Rashtra

Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, the head priest of Bageshwar Dham, on March 8 once again raised his voice for a Hindu nation. Dhirendra Shastri, who arrived to perform Ram Katha in Gopalganj in Bihar which will witness Assembly elections later this year, said that the demand to declare India a Hindu nation will arouse from Bihar. This country is not Babur's but Raghubar's. We have come out of the house only for Hinduism. However, Bageshwar Baba's statement about demanding ‘Hindu Rashtra’ erupted a row and drawn sharp reaction from Maulana Rashidi.

Muslim religious leader and president of All India Imam Association, Maulana Sajid Rashidi said that Dhirendra Shastri has once again tried to raise his voice on the demand for Hindu Rashtra. Whenever elections come, he starts raising the demand for Hindu Rashtra. But many Muslim organisations in the country were banned when they demanded an Islamic nation.

Prashant Kishor takes a dig at Nitish Kumar  

Last week, Prashant Kishor took a dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying he will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the state in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides after results to hold the CM office. 

Nitish Kumar has been infamous of switching his loyality several times in the past as his party Janata Dal (United) has emerged as kingmaker in Assembly elections. However, after pledging his allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party after he ditched the INDI bloc before 2024 Lok Sabha elections and sided with the NDA , Nitish Kumar had promised and assured the saffron camp that he won't sides and remain loyal to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).