Saints in Ujjain are unhappy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments about Naga sadhus during his visit to Simhastha, the Ujjain Kumbh.
The Akhir Bhartiya Akhada Parishad head Acharya Narendra Giri objected to the comment and regreted that he had gone to attend Modi's event.
"It was our fault, because that was a religious function", he said. Earlier, Modi had said that Kumbh had become syonymous with Naga Sadhus.
Suggesting that tradition shouldn't be an excuse, he had said that it is the Nagas' pictures that are shown in promotion of event and suggested that it should be changed.
Acharya Giri said that Modi's language used in the comments about Naga sadhus was not correct. "The devotees come to Kumbh to have a glimpse of Naga Sadhus.
The Kumbh is the festival of these Nagas who come from all corners of the country and the devotees-rich and poor, arrive here to see them", he said. "The Nagar sadhus' tradition can't be changed and they are our ideal", he added.
Giri regreted attending Vichar Mahakumbh and said that it turned out to be a political stage. Saint Avimukteshwarananad Maharaj said that it seems that in the eyes of government, those who have come to attend Simhastha are fools and thus the Vichar Mahakumbh was organised by government.
Meanwhile, the opposition has also attacked the BJP government for trying to hijack the Simhastha. "The Vichar Kumbh is nothing but an attempt to impose the Saffron agenda", said MP Congress chief Arun Yadav, in a press conference. He said that the BJP government had spent hundreds of crores for propogating the RSS ideology.
