Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday slammed self-styled godman, 'Baba Bageshwar' Dhirendra Shastri, for his reported remark of "Bihar will ignite the 'Hindu Rashtra' fire", and said that his statement has 'no value'.
"After fighting the freedom struggle the constitution came into existence and the name given that should be acceptable to everyone...Were all those who are saying this, born during the freedom struggle?... What is the need of saying this? Follow any religion you want. But proposals for renaming are surprising. Is that even possible?" Nitish Kumar said while commenting on Dhirendra Shastri's remark.
"In Bihar, we ensure that everyone gets their right to worship as the way they want, but no one should interfere in each other's faith. If someone is saying something on their own, it has no value," Mr Kumar added further.
Meanwhile, former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav when asked about Dhirendra Shastri not being stopped from holding an event in Patna, he said, "Who is Baba Bageshwar? Is he a Baba?"
His son and Bihar Minister Tej Pratap Yadav also slammed Mr Shastri and said that he doesn't know any such baba but only knows 'Devraha Baba' and his birth also happened with his blessings. "...This Baba is abusing Biharis and calling them 'pagal'. There's 'Krishna Raj' & 'Mahagathbandhan Raj' in Bihar...This politics is being done to divide the country...," alleged Tej Pratap.
Dhirendra Shastri reportedly made the remark while addressing an event in Patna on Monday, a day after cancelling the event 'Divya Darbar' following an unexpected gathering of a large crowd at the venue.
On Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ram Kripal Yadav accused Nitish Kumar-led government of mismanagement after hundreds of devotees fell sick during the 'Divya Darbar' session of Dhirendra Shastri at Naubatpur area of Bihar's Patna.
Mr Yadav said that more than hundreds of devotees attending the Divya Darbar of Dhirendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham fell sick during Sunday's session due to high humidity and the heavy crowd inside the venue.
Meanwhile, after the incident, Dhirendra Shastri requested the devotees to avoid coming in large numbers as the temperature remains high in the district. The organizers had said that the four-day Hanumanth Katha event will conclude on May 17.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)