NEW DELHI: An address in the Haryana Assembly by Jain religious leader Tarun Sagar (a member of the Digambar sect that does not wear clothes) has led to a war of words on Twitter, with several users criticising the decision to mix religion with politics.
Tarun Sagar spoke of the husband-wife relationship, rapes and female foeticide. He said, “The control of dharma over politics is essential. Dharma is the husband, politics is the wife. It is the duty of every husband to protect his wife. It is the duty of every wife to accept the discipline of her husband. If there is no control of dharma over politics, it will be like an elephant out of control.”
Several users took to micro blogging site Twitter to criticise the overt mix of religion and politics.
Bollywood singer-composer Vishal Dadlani, for instance, faced a huge backlash for his critical comments. Dadlani tweeted, "People actually trying to defend the colossal idiocy of some naked monk, addressing Haryana assembly, telling women how to live! UNREAL! (2)." He added, “"That dude has the same education, as he has clothes on. None. I've no problem with nudity. I have a problem with religion in governance.”
As the backlash mounted, Dadlani issued an apology of sorts saying, "I apologise if I've upset Jain feelings. The intent was to ridicule the merger of religion & governance, and not any religion in particular.”
He also retweeted a tweet defending the religious leader by AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Kejriwal, however, got his own share of flak for the tweet.
The CPI(M) took on the Delhi CM for the comment, with Brinda Karat leading the fray.
In a statement, the CPI (M) said, “In a most objectionable move, the BJP Govt in Haryana asked a Jain muni to address the official session of the State Assembly. The Assembly is not a place for religious discourses. It goes against the principles of the Constitution. CPI(M) Haryana criticised the move.In addition the speech itself was sexist and demeaning to women.Arvind Kejriwal came out in defence of the BJP and the Jain Muni,” and added that “The Saffronisation Agenda of RSS Must be unambiguously Rejected!”
Tehseen Poonawalla also received a lot of criticism for comments on the monk. Poonawalla had tweeted, “Why is this 'naked' man 'holy' even if he walks 'nude' in the state assembly while a woman would be termed slut (sic).”
The BJP, meanwhile, condemned the criticism of the monk. A statement issued by BJP General Secretary Anil Jain, who called Dadlani an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, and Poonawala a "Congress supporter", said their comments were "indecent, undignified and petty". "The condemnable comments on Muni Tarun Sagarji Maharaj show the petty mindset of AAP and Congress… It shows the thinking of leaders of these parties towards religion and saints," the statement said.