‘I am neither a Sandhu nor a preacher,’ says Asaram Bapu in Jodhpur
Asaram reacts to being labeled as a fake saint.
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Representative image.
Jaipur: Asaram Bapu, who is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail for allegedly raping a minor girl, reacted strongly when asked about his views on being named as a “fake saint” by All India Akhada Parishad recently.
“I am neither a Sadhu, nor a katha vachak (preacher). In fact I am a gadha (donkey),” said Asaram before a hearing in his case at Jodhpur court on Thursday.
Akhara Parishadin its special meeting on Sunday had released names of 14 saints terming them to be fakes. They included the two incarcerated sadhus — Gurmeet Ram Rahim and Asaram Bapu.
The special meeting of the Akhara Parishad was attended by 26 saints and sadhus representing 13 akharas. The meeting was held at Baghbabari Math in Allahabad of Uttar Pradesh.
When he was entering the court premises on Thursday, media persons asked him about his reaction to the decision of the Parishad.
When asked as to why he was calling himself a donkey, he didn’t respond and dismissed the media persons.
The lawyers of Asaram had earlier condemned the Parishad for labelling the self-proclaimed godman as fake and raised question marks over the Parishad’s authority in releasing such a list.
Asaram Bapu his behind bars for the past four years. The 76-year-old religious preacher has been accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old schoolgirl who studied at Asaram’s ashram in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara and stayed in a girls’ hostel there.
The girl had made a complaint at a police station in Delhi on August 20 and the spiritual leader has since then denied the allegation.
