Sai Baba idols removed from several temples in Varanasi

Sanatan Rakshak Dal chief Ajay Sharma said that the idols of Sai baba would be removed from Bhooteshwar and Agasteshwar Temples in the next few days.

Lucknow: In a development that is likely to trigger a new religious controversy in the country, the idols of Sai Baba were removed from several temples in Varanasi after a few saffron outfits and some senior Hindu seers objected to their presence.

According to the reports, the idols of Sai Baba were removed from as many as ten temples, including the famous Bada Ganesh Temple, in the past few days.

The Sanatan Rakshak Dal (SRD), a saffron outfit, and the 'Brahmin Sabha' have spearheaded a campaign to remove the Sai Baba idols from the temples in Varanasi. ''We are not against Sai Baba but his idols have no place in the temples,'' SRD president Ajay Sharma said in Varanasi on Tuesday.

''Sai Baba's disciples can worship him at a temple dedicated to him only......some people, who did not have knowledge of Sanatan Dharma, had installed Sai Baba's idols in other temples,'' he added.

Sharma said that the idol of a dead man could not be installed at temples. ''It is not permitted in the Sanatan Dharma.....the idols of only five gods and goddesses - Surya, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Ganesha- could be installed in the temples and worshipped,'' he remarked.

Sharma said that the idols of Sai Baba would be removed from Bhooteshwar and Agasteshwar Temples in the next few days. 

The Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Sarswati had also opposed worshipping Saibaba saying that the latter was not a Hindu god. ''There is no mention of Saibaba in the ancient scriptures,'' he had said. Acharya Dheerendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham had also said that Saibaba could be worshipped as a 'Mahatma' but not as a god.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and member of the UP Legislative Council Ashutosh Sinha termed the removal of Sai baba idols from temples as a ''political stunt'' of BJP. ''Sai baba is widely respected in Maharashtra....the Hindu religion is an inclusive religion....over the centuries it has accepted a variety of thoughts,'' Sinha said