Kolkata: Of the 9 Padma Shri awardees from West Bengal, Kartick Maharaj, a Bharat Sevashram Sangha monk from Murshidabad district, was nearly an unknown determine until Could 2024 when chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly accused him of serving to the Bharatiya Janata Get together within the then ongoing Lok Sabha polls and drew flak from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kartick Maharaj. (File Picture)
The monk, whose ascetic title is Swami Pradiptananda, despatched a authorized discover to Banerjee looking for an unconditional apology however she caught to her allegations.
The sequence of occasions began on Could 18, 2024, when Banerjee, whereas addressing voters in Hooghly district, alleged {that a} part of monks from the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, ISKCON and Ramakrishna Mission had been asking voters to help BJP. She particularly named Kartick Maharaj, stunning not solely residents however her political adversaries as properly.
“I have great respect for monks but not all of them are same. Bharat Sevashram Sangha has a unit in Berhampore (a Lok Sabha seat). I have heard about a Maharaj (monk) for a long time. His name is Kartick Maharaj. He said he will not allow any TMC election agent in polling booths. I do not consider him a monk because he is directly involved in politics. He is ruining the country. I have great respect for Bharat Sevashram Sangha,” Banerjee mentioned on the Could 18 rally.
The then state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who had gained the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat 5 instances since 1999, backed Banerjee’s allegation.
Murshidabad district has West Bengal’s highest Muslim inhabitants of 66.28 % based on the 2011 census.
Addressing the media, Chowdhury mentioned: “I have heard about this monk on several occasions. He works for political parties and hence cannot be called a monk. Banerjee, however, has no right to judge people because she does not follow secular politics.”
On Could 20, Swami Pradiptanada despatched a authorized discover to Banerjee via a Calcutta excessive court docket lawyer.
“I therefore call upon you to forthwith address the press and issue an unconditional apology and retract your virulent and malafide statement within 48 hours from receipt of the instant notice and cease and desist from making further similar statements against my client defaming and maligning my client,” mentioned the discover, a duplicate of which was seen by HT.
Banerjee caught to her allegations however clarified that she had deep respect for all three Hindu organisations.
At a ballot rally in Bankura district on Could 20, she mentioned: “Why should I be against an institution? Why should I insult anyone? I never do it. I am talking of some individuals. I talked of Kartick Maharaj. He did not let TMC put election agents in booths. He planned a riot at Rejinagar in Murshidabad two days before the polls. This is the reason I took his name. I will continue to do this.”
“I have all the information. He instigated some local traders. You (the monk) visit many areas and work for BJP. Go ahead and do it but put the BJP’s symbol on your chest. Why do it stealthily? I don’t say anything without having evidence,” Banerjee added, escalating the row.
Prime Minister Modi, who was on a two-day election tour of Bengal, focused the TMC chief from a rally in Jhargram district on Could 20.
“Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON and Bharat Sevashram Sangha are Bengal’s spiritual identity. The chief minister is threatening these organisations in public. This has encouraged the TMC’s goons,” Modi mentioned, referring to an alleged vandalism at an RKM ashram in Jalpaiguri district the night time earlier than.
“TMC has crossed all limits to satisfy its vote bank. Bengal will not tolerate the insult of monks,” Modi mentioned on the rally.
Drawn right into a political tussle, RKM – a religious and social welfare organisation based by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 and named after his religious guru Ramakrishna Paramahansha – didn’t touch upon the controversy.
Bharat Sevashram Sangha, a Hindu non secular and social welfare organisation based in 1917 by Swami Pranavananda Maharaj, didn’t formally make any assertion on Kartick Maharaj.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury misplaced the Berhampore seat to TMC’s Yusuf Pathan within the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Kartick Maharaj didn’t make any assertion earlier than the media after his title appeared within the record of Padma Sri awardees.