UP Minister Satish Sharma was caught on camera washing his hands at a Shivling
Uttar Pradesh Minister Satish Sharma faced massive flak from the Opposition today after a video of him washing his hands at a Shivling in Barabanki's Lodheshwar Mahadev temple surfaced online.
The video showed the Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies washing his hands in the 'argha', or the base of the Shivling, with the help of a priest.
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have demanded the minister's resignation for "insulting Sanatan dharma".
However, Satish Sharma countered the allegations saying he did nothing wrong and that if he were wrong, the priest would have stopped him.
Aditya Tiwari, the temple priest, said that the minister had done nothing wrong and added that since the minister had "prasad" in his hand, he helped him wash them in the "argha" of the Shivling.
"Minister Satish Sharma was holding sandalwood and other things after performing the puja. When he asked to wash his hands, they were washed next to the Shivling because it was in the form of 'prasad'. There is nothing wrong in this," Mr Tiwari told PTI.
The incident took place on August 27, when Mr Sharma visited the temple with Public Works Department Minister Jitin Prasada.
Satish Sharma and Jitin Prasada were in the Hetmapur village of Ramnagar tehsil to distribute relief material to the flood victims and stopped to pray at the temple.
"The minister should know what he is doing. Will we wash our hands when we offer water and pay our respects? The minister has insulted Sanatan dharma," UP Congress President Ajay Rai said.
Congress leader Surendra Rajput said Satish Sharma insulted Lord Shiva and must be sacked.
"Washing hands in the 'argha' of the Shivling is an unrighteous act. Only those who do not care about Sanatan dharma can do this. The BJP minister has insulted Lord Shiva. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should sack him for this anti-religious act," he said.
Samajwadi Party leader and former MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said that if the leader had been from some other caste, the BJP would have expelled him by now.
"When will Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expel this 'adharmi (godless)' minister? This is the real character of the BJP. First, they will ask for votes in the name of religion and then do such things," Mr Sajan said.
The Opposition is unnecessarily blowing up the matter, Satish Sharma told news agency PTI.
"I am a Sanatani Shiv bhakt (devotee). I know very well what is right and what is wrong. The Opposition is unnecessarily blowing up the issue," he said.
"I did what I felt was right. It was not my intention to hurt anyone. Had I been wrong, the priest would not have washed my hands," the BJP minister added.