"Dharm Sansad" seeks removal of Sai Baba idols, ban on "PK"

Allahabad, Jan 19: A congregation of Hindu religious leaders here has sought the removal of idols of Sai Baba of Shirdi from temples besides a ban on the controversial Aamir Khan starrer "PK".

It has demanded action against members of the Censor Board who allowed the screening of the movie that allegedly offended religious sentiments.

At a "Dharm Sansad" held in the presence of Shankaracharya of Dwarka Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati and Shankaracharya of Puri Swami Nishchhalananda Saraswati, which concluded last night, the religious leaders passed a number of resolutions wherein it was declared that "Sai Baba is neither a guru nor a god".

"Therefore, his idols must be removed from Hindu temples to rid the places of worship of any corrupting influences."

The Dharm Sansad, which was held inside the camp of Dwarka Shankaracharya close to the Sangam, also came down heavily on Bollywood movie "PK", which was released more than a month ago.

Demanding an immediate ban on the film, it sought action against members of the Censor Board who granted a certificate to the movie.

Other resolutions passed at the congregation, in which hundreds of monks, seers and religious leaders attending the month-long religious fare Magh Mela took part, included demands for a ban on cow slaughter, promotion of Sanskrit, curbing proselytization of Hindus, a construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya "strictly in accordance with Sanatan traditions" and naming of government schemes in Hindi.

Interestingly, the Dwarka Shankaracharya, who is said to be not in best of terms with the Sangh Parivar, in his discourse remarked "We need to efficiently propagate the Hindu faith so that our numbers do not dwindle.

"This is the way to go forward and it will be more effective than any attempts to increase population", he said. Hindu religious and political leaders close to it, have stated that Hindus should produce more children to prevent themselves from shrinking demographically.

A statement to this effect by BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj caused much embarrassment to the Narendra Modi government.

Yesterday, a similar remark was made by fire-brand VHP leader Pravin Togadia. A day earlier, Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati, a seer known to be close to the Sangh, said in Allahabad that there was "no harm in Hindus producing even 10 children".

PTI