Statues of Sai Baba were removed from several temples in Varanasi on Tuesday following a campaign launched by a group called ‘Sanatan Rakshak Dal’.

Of these, the group removed a Sai Baba statue from the Bada Ganesh temple here and placed it outside the temple premises.

Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, “Sai Baba was worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to the scriptures.”

Similarly, Shankar Puri, the head priest of the Annapurna Temple, said, “There is no mention of the worship of Sai Baba in the scriptures.”

Meanwhile, Mahant of Ayodhya’s Hanumangarhi temple Raju Das told PTI, “Sai can be a ‘dharm guru’ (religious preacher), a ‘mahapurush’ (a great person), a ‘peer’ or an ‘aulia’, but he cannot be a ‘Bhagvaan’ (God). I am grateful to the person in Varanasi who removed the idol (of Sai Baba). I urge all Sanatanis in the country to remove the idol of ‘Chaand Peer’. (Sai Baba) from the church.”

Ajay Sharma, state president of the Sanatan Rakshak Dal, said, “Only the worship of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity, should take place in Kashi (Varanasi).” Out of respect for the sentiments of devotees, statues of Sai Baba have already been removed from ten temples. Statues will also be removed from Agastyakunda and Bhuteshwar temples in the coming days, he said.

The priest of the Sai Temple at Sant Raghuvar Das Nagar in the Sigra area of ​​the city, Samar Ghosh, said: “Those who claim to be Sanatanis today are the same people who established Sai Baba in the temples, and now they are the ones who removed him from there. All gods are one. God can be seen in any form. Such actions are not right.

Ghosh said that this Sai temple is open daily from 7 am to 10 pm, and Sai devotees come to worship every day.

“Especially on Thursdays, around 4,000 to 5,000 devotees visit the temple to pay their respects,” he said.

Vivek Srivastava, a devotee of Sai Baba, said the removal of the Sai Baba statue is an extremely disturbing event.

“This incident has damaged the faith of millions of Sai devotees. All gods are one. Everyone has the right to worship God in whatever form he believes. Whether Sai Baba was Hindu or Muslim, it is we who created this division. God makes no distinction between people,” Srivastava said.

Reacting to the developments, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI, “It is unfortunate that the BJP and those supporting it have turned religion into a wrestling arena (‘akhara’) of politics, which is not should happen. Sanatan Dharm is a religion. , which incorporates, assimilates and integrates all the good aspects of everyone (including other religions). If they want to remove the idol (from temples) in the name of fanaticism (‘kattartaa’), then that is certainly not in their interest. of the country.”

When contacted, SP spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said, “It seems that the BJP is the No. 1 player when it comes to playing with someone’s ‘aasthaa’ (faith in Gods). Now they have even started discriminating and division among Gods. Division and hatred seem to be at the core of the BJP. If the Constitution does not indulge in discrimination, who are we to do so?”

Revered as a spiritual leader, Sai Baba is known for his teachings of love, forgiveness and charity, which transcend religious boundaries.

On its website, the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, states that Sai Baba is revered as one of the greatest saints ever seen in India, endowed with unprecedented powers, and is worshiped as God incarnate. (SAI means Sakshaat Ishwar) (God the absolute).

“This mysterious Fakir first appeared in Shirdi as a youth and remained there all his long life. HE transformed the lives of those who met him and continues to do so even after his Samadhi in 1918, for those whose hearts were touched by his love and who pray and call him for his blessings in every emergency in life,” the website said.

The trust also states that a striking aspect of Sai Baba is that he stands “beyond distinction” of religion, caste or creed. He embodied all religions and preached the Universal religion of Love.

“Devotees of all religions find their meeting point in the Sai and people from all communities and all walks of life are united by the great love and reverence that Baba inspires in them. Baba had great regard for his Hindu devotees and their gurus and was responsive to their needs and permissible worship according to Hindu and other religious rituals. At the same time, his residence was a mosque and the name of Allah was always on his lips…,” it added.