If the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh thought it had succeeded in wooing Hindu religious leaders by awarding minister of state rank to five sadhus earlier this month, it may have celebrated too early.
Several Naga (naked) sadhus, led by Swami Vairagyanand Giri, protested in the state capital Bhopal against an alleged scam during the Narmada Yatra conducted by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Hundreds of saints belonging to 13 akharas (congregations) staged a protest march in Bhopal on Sunday.
The sadhus objected to the BJP government’s move to give minister of state (MoS) rank to the five sadhus who had threatened to take out a yatra against the chief minister. Giri said, “Why did the government not give such status 12 years back? This is like a bribe. We oppose this.” He said the acceptance of minister of state rank by the five sadhus was bringing a bad name to the saint community.
Hundreds of sadhus arrived for the protest from ashrams spread all over the state. They wanted to gherao the chief minister's house at Shamala Hills but were prevented by the police. They later staged a sit-in at Shahjahani Park, demanding action over illegal sand mining in the river Narmada and an inquiry into an alleged scam related to the plantation of 6 crore saplings.
Giri said, “I have visited number of places across Narmada but did not find a single sapling.’’ Later, a representative of the chief minister met the sadhus and assured them of addressing their grievances in the next 15 days. They submitted their memorandum to the additional district collector and police officials. Only after this, did the sadhus agree to shelve their plan of laying siege to the CM's house.
In the memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the sadhus demanded action against people carrying out illegal mining of sand in the river Narmada and sacking of the five sadhus who were given minister of state status.