The self-styled ‘Rajasthan ka Yogi’ says the poll battle for Tijara seat is like an ‘India-Pakistan match.’
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Mahant Baba Balaknath, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Alwar in Rajasthan and a candidate from Tijara state assembly seat in the November 25 elections, has been spewing venom against Muslims.
The self-styled ‘Rajasthan ka Yogi’, Baba Balaknath, is framing his upcoming electoral battle with Imran Khan of Congress as an “us” versus “them” issue or an “India-Pakistan match”.
In his campaign speeches, Baba Balaknath has been touching upon the status of infrastructure, education, and health in the Mewat region, emphasising an alleged disparity in the Congress government’s approach in the state towards Hindus and Muslims, media reports reaching here said on Wednesday.
His pointed pitch is against those who, according to him, follow “Talibani” principles. He alleged that their influence has hindered development in Mewat, which has a sizable Muslim population.
Speaking at Tijara’s Shekhpur Jatt village on 11 November, Balaknath asked villagers to find plots to build a temple and a shamshaan ghat (cremation ground) — demands made in the past. “I’ll be back right after the elections and the shilanyas (foundation stone) will be laid. Don’t worry,” he assured the villagers.
Tijara has a sizable population of Meo Muslims as well as Yadavs and Dalits. According to estimates, there are about 1,90,000 Hindus and 70,000 Muslims in the constituency. Of the Hindus, Yadavs are estimated to make up about 65,000; Baniyas about 16,000; and Jatav Dalits, 13,000.
Sitting Tijara MLA Sandeep Kumar belongs to the Yadav community. He fought on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, but later joined the Congress. Balaknath’s main competitors now are Imran Khan from the Congress and Udmi Ram Poswal of the Azad Samaj Party. While accusing Khan of being a “Talibani”, Baba Balaknath claims that Poswal has been propped up by the Congress to divide Hindu votes.
In a speech in Patan, in Neem Ka Thana District last week, the BJP lawmaker berated Muslims over the murder of a Hindu tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in June last year. The Udaipur tailor was murdered allegedly by two Muslim youths over his social media posts in support of BJP leader Nupur Sharma, who was suspended by the ruling party earlier this month for her blasphemous comments on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Hindutva Watch, an initiative that monitors reports of hate speeches and attacks on members of religious minorities in the country, posted a video of the BJP lawmaker harping on the issue in his bid to polarise the voters.
Balaknath also listed instances where Congress allegedly favoured the Muslim community at the expense of the development and progress of Hindus.
“When the Karauli incident (2022 Hindu-Muslim violence) happened, the Congress government did not take cognisance of that or arrest the criminals. A cow smuggler died recently. His family was given Rs 50 lakh as compensation. In the past five years, there have been brutal murders of innocents in Alwar, but they didn’t even get the Rs 2-2.5 lakh that is usually announced, even after considerable pressure. So, who is doing appeasement politics? Who gave permission to the (banned organisation) Popular Front of India? Who wanted the Hindu bhagwa (saffron) flags to be removed? Who gave permission to put a stop to Hindu religious yatras?” he asked.
“In Jodhpur, during Ramadan, a certain area in which our Muslim brothers stay, suddenly got electricity, light and water. Who passed this order? We have proof. If you’re giving electricity or light, then give it everywhere. No one should get special treatment,” he said.
