India: Rajasthan Governer Khurana holds Bhoomi Poojan for Asaram Bapu's discourse

The Hindu
March 20, 2004
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/03/20/stories/2004032005630500.htm

Rajasthan   
Khurana holds Bhoomi Poojan for Asaram Bapu's discourse

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, MARCH 19 . Undeterred by criticism for dragging his constitutional office into religious activities, the Rajasthan Governor, Madan Lal Khurana, today conducted "Bhoomi Poojan'' (homage to land) at Amroodon Ka Bagh near the State Assembly where the popular saint, Asaram Bapu, will deliver "Pravachan'' (discourses) at the invitation of Raj Bhavan later this month.

Mr. Khurana had recently appointed a committee for organising Asaram Bapu's discourses to raise funds to assist the poor and downtrodden coming to the "Ghareeb Sunwai Kendra'' established by him in Raj Bhavan. The committee's general secretary is the vice-president of the State unit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Chandraraj Singhvi.

Asaram Bapu will deliver sermons on Geeta Bhagwat during the four-day discourse programme from March 27 to 30 and encourage the donors to render assistance to Mr. Khurana's venture. The final day of discourses will coincide with Ramnavmi festival and the contributions would go to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for being disbursed to the deserving people.

Mr. Khurana conducted Bhoomi Poojan under the guidance of a priest, Pandit Manohar Chaturvedi, amid chanting of Vedic mantras. He prayed for success of the programme and welfare of the people at large while chanting the hymns and performing the rites of worship. His wife, Raj Khurana, accompanied him in the worship.

The Governor also released a poster of Asaram Bapu prepared for wide publicity of the event and flagged off a "Prachar Rath'' (publicity chariot) carrying a huge picture of the saint after applying `tilak' at his forehead in the photo and offering a garland to it.

Mr. Khurana, speaking on the occasion, called upon the people to extent their support wholeheartedly to serve the poor and needy. "The funds collected during the Pravachan will be utilised for providing medical treatment to those who cannot afford it, financial assistance to the destitute and support to poor children for completing their education,'' he said.

"This programme is like a Yagna. People should make their `Ahuti' (offerings) in this Yagna in the shape of monetary contribution and earn `Punya' (blessings) for themselves,'' Mr. Khurana affirmed. He said the discourses would bring prosperity to the State and motivate the people to serve the suffering humanity.

Even though the Governor has asserted that the event would be "above politics'', the Opposition Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) have disapproved of the programme and alleged that it would give political mileage to the ruling BJP. The CPI(M) has accused Mr. Khurana of undermining the secular character of his office and indulging in politics in the name of religion.

A similar initiative taken by the then Governor, Anshuman Singh, by organising the Ram Katha discourses of Murari Bapu in 2002 had led to a controversy about the propriety of the Governor patronising a particular religion. The ostensible objective of the programme at that time was to generate funds for the benefit of drought-affected people.

Mr. Khurana has stated that he was guided by his religious faith and concern for the poor in organising the discourse programme. However, the majority of the members of the committee -- named Ghareeb Sahayatarth Asaram Bapu Pravachan Samiti -- are either the BJP functionaries or have affiliation or sympathy for the party. The committee is headed by the president of the Yoga Vedanta Sewa Samiti and a leading trader, Babulal Gupta.