Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.   |  Photo Credit: Twitter
Key Highlights
- Maharaj, arrested on Thursday and charged with sedition, has been sent to police remand for two days by a local court
- Gehlot said that the people of India should decide whether to follow a great personality like Swami Vivekananda or choose people who talk about genocide
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latter’s silence in the Dharma Sansad row, and asked why the PM has not condemned the incident yet.
“PM should condemn the incident (of hate speech) at Dharma Sansad in Raipur. On one hand, you are accepting Gandhi, and on the other, you are not saying anything when derogatory words are used against Gandhi,” Gehlot told media persons.
The row erupted after religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj allegedly used abusive language against Mahatma Gandhi and praised his assassin Nathuram Godse during a religious event called ‘Dharma Sansad’ from December 25-26 in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur.
Maharaj, arrested on Thursday and charged with sedition, has been sent to police remand for two days by a local court.
Gehlot yesterday said that great Indian philosophers like Swami Vivekananda have emerged from the discussions in Dharma Sansad held in Chicago in 1893, contrary to the “unruly and wicked people emerging from discussion held in Uttarakhand”, adding that the people of India should decide whether to follow a great personality like Swami Vivekananda or choose people who talk about genocide
“Let us all think that a Dharma Sansad was held in Chicago in 1893 where great men like Swami Vivekananda emerged from the discussion. Unruly and wicked people are coming out of the religious parliaments being held here,” Gehlot said in a post on social media platform Twitter.
Condemning the incident, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said that his state police will investigate all cases registered against Maharaj.
“The offense of using derogatory words for Mahatma Gandhi should definitely attract the sedition charge. Maharashtra Police will investigate all cases registered against him (Kalicharan Maharaj) and take him into custody,” Patil said.