'Bihar people voted for 'gau rakshak' candidates, they favour cow protection': Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand

Patna: The Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math in Uttarakhand on Wednesday claimed that around six lakh people voted for 'gau rakshak' candidates fielded by him in the Bihar assembly elections, and this indicates that they are in favour of cow protection.

Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said he had nominated candidates for all 243 assembly constituencies of Bihar but, "under pressure or greed", 45 of them backed off, leaving the tally at 198.

"These 198 gau rakshak (cow vigilante) candidates secured a total of around six lakh votes, averaging around 3,000 in each assembly constituency. The verdict shows that people in Bihar are concerned about the protection of cows, and if the need arises, they will form a government that prioritises cow safety," he said.

Saraswati earlier said he was forced to field such candidates as mainstream political parties are ignoring the issue.

On Wednesday, the seer criticised the NDA government in Bihar for failing to eliminate cow slaughter in the state despite being in power for a long time.

"People witness open killing of cows in many parts of Bihar, including in Patna", he said, alleging that even Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had "formed an alliance with adharmiks (impious) for the sake of power."

Regarding the hoisting of 'dharma dhwaja' at Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the sage said, "Two videos surfaced on the Internet. In one, armed forces officials are hoisting the dhwaja with leather shoes on, while in the other, Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi are hoisting the flag by pressing a button."

Discarding the argument that the armed forces personnel were rehearsing for the event, Saraswati asserted that the "ascent of the flag in both the videos was almost identical."

"Even if they were in a rehearsal, leather shoes cannot be allowed inside the temple," he said.

The Shankaracharya alleged that certain people are meddling with the sanctity of the temple.

On Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's remark on multiplicity and diversity of deities in the Hindu religion, Shankaracharya said, "Even dacoits in India have their own deity. Does this imply that they should be set out of prison?"

According to the seer, those who profess "kapat dharma" aim to please the god to achieve their ends, while the followers of "nishkapat dharma" see happiness of god itself as their goal.

Revanth Reddy had on Tuesday remarked, "How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crores?...There are local deities where toddy and non-vegetarian food are served during certain events and there are gods worshipped by those who eat 'dal rice'."