BJP in ‘damage control’ mode as Yogi’s deputy performs ‘batuk puja’

In what is being seen as a ‘damage control’ exercise to douse anger among the ‘Brahmin’ community over the alleged ‘mistreatment’ of ‘Batuk Brahmins’ at the recently concluded ‘Magh Mela’ in Prayagraj, UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak performed a ‘batuk puja’ with 101 ‘batuks’.

The controversy erupted after police allegedly mistreated the ‘batuks’ (celibate Hindu children initiated into Gurukul for Vedic education), all disciples of Swami Avimukteshwaranand during the annual ritual held on the banks of the Ganga.

With ‘Brahmin’ leaders and their outfits slamming the BJP government for ‘humiliating the community’, and Avimukteshwarananda questioning the Hindu credentials of Yogi Adityanath, Pathak’s ‘batuk puja’ is being viewed as an attempt to placate the electorally influential community. It is also seen as a move to blunt the opposition’s campaign branding the saffron party as ‘anti-Brahmin’.

Videos that surfaced on social media purportedly showed police dragging the “batuks” by their ‘shikha’, the traditional tuft of hair worn by Brahmins as a symbol of devotion, triggering massive backlash from community members across the country.

“Dragging the batuks by their shikhas is maha paap (sin),” Pathak said in the state Assembly after being cornered by the opposition.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav said that Pathak, who come from the ‘Brahmin’ community, should resign if he truly felt offended.

Avimukteshwarananda, who has been attacking Adityanath after being prevented from proceeding towards the Ganga for a sacred dip during the ‘Magh Mela’, said the ‘batuk puja’ would not “wash away” the BJP’s “sin”.

“BJP’s image is taking a beating owing to Adityanath’s actions,” the seer said in Varanasi.