Allahabad: Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, on Sunday in its committee, issued a list of “fake babas” where the names of Asaram Bapu, Radhe Maa, recently convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Nirmal Baba have been mentioned.
In a list of 14, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has asked the government to amend new laws against the “fake gurus”.
President of the Parishad Narendra Giri said that a total of 14 offers were presented where all the sadhus came together to talk about this issue.
“The committee was held for the topic of Arth Kumbh Mela. There are many fake baba in the society and we are upset because most of these so called babas are being defamed. They are not baba and after thinking on this, we have listed a few who should not be called one,” he said addressing the media.
Following are the names in the “fake baba list”:
• Asaram bapu
• Sukhvinder Kaur aka Radhe Maa
• Sachdarangi
• Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
• Om baba aka Vivekanand
• Nirmal Baba
• Ichachadhari Vishwanand
• Swami Asmianand
• Om Namah Shivaay
• Narayan Sai Rampal
“I request the government to investigate on these hypocrite babas and put them in jail and we beware everyone to be safe from these babas. Their assets must also be probed” Giri said.
This has come after Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in two rapes cases of 2002, in which he has been sentenced a cumulative jail term of 20 years.
Earlier, Asaram Bapu was arrested by the Jodhpur Police in an alleged rape case, on August 3, 2013 and since then, he has been in prison.
Asaram’s son Narayan Sai, who is on the list as well, was arrested for allegedly raping a Surat-based woman disciple of his father between 2002 and 2005.
Mechanism to award ‘sant’ title
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has decided to put in place a mechanism to award the title of ‘sant’ to stop its misuse by people like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The move by the top body of Hindu religious leaders was prompted by the recent rape conviction and jailing of Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda, a quasi- religious body based in Sirsa in Haryana.
There is a very strong feeling among saints that because of misdeeds of just one or two religious leaders, the entire community was being shown in a bad light, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said.
The VHP works closely with the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad.
“The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad feels that the title of ‘sant’ is being misused so it has decided to put in place a mechanism to award this title,” Jain said.
The title will be given after evaluating and examining an individual.
“The Akhara Parishad will also observe lifestyle of individuals before conferring this title on them,” he added.
A senior functionary of the Akhara Parishad said that they had also decided that a saint cannot hold cash or have any assets in his name.
“All such things — assets and cash — should belong to a trust and should be utilised for the welfare of the people at large,” the functionary said.
Jain said that the people should also “cross-check” an individual’s credentials before becoming their disciples.
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad is the united body of 14 akharas, including the Nirmohi Akhara which is the face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in Ayodhya.
With inputs from PTI and ANI