Mahant’s aura overshadows chief minister’s allure
LUCKNOW : A picture is actually worth a thousand words.
Union power minister Piyush Goyal was in the state capital on April 14 for a meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Visibly in complete awe of the Mahant in saffron, he literally bowed -- head down and body bent 90 degree from the waist. The chief minister greeted him with his signature smile on the face with both hands folded in a pranam.
On Monday, former minister in Samajwadi Party government Raghuraj Pratap Singh did the same. The former muscle man, whose writ runs large in Kunda in Pratapgarh, did not look into the Mahant’s eyes while greeting him.
Nothing unusual for Yogi as even BJP national president Amit Shah along with several Congress and opposition leaders greet him with full reverence, while his followers lie in complete prostration on the floor in several parts of the country.
Their sentiments are sharply different from AIADMK cadre in Tamil Nadu where even ministers used to lie flat on the floor to greet the late chief minister Jayalalithaa. It was sycophancy in Tamil Nadu, whereas here it is a matter of religious belief and faith.
Yogi is now the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and he will complete one month in office today. Interestingly, his aura of a mahant continues to overshadow the appeal of a powerful man sitting on the coveted chair.
He himself responds quicker when addressed as ‘maharaj ji’ than ‘CM sahab’. In the words of state general secretary of Hindu Yuva Vahini PK Mall, ‘The aura of Gorakhnath peeth has now reached Lucknow and the CM office.’
Though Yogi epitomizes a successful mix of religion and politics, his role of ‘ peethadheeshwar’ always stood taller than the MP status. According to Mall, devotees of Gorakhnath Math worship him as much as they revere the sacred place.
They maintain, ‘The chief minister’s chair may be more glamorous for other politicians but not for Yogi as it is the peeth which is more dominant.’
Obviously he owes his rise in political hierarchy primarily because of the Peeth involved in social welfare schemes.
The Gorakhnath math represents the Nath Sampradaya and has been a centre of Hindu religion activities in the region, including the Rama temple movement.
However, many of his counterparts like Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu prefer to be called chief executive officer than chief minister to establish his image of an administrator.
This could have well become a political issue but in UP’s Brahmin culture, touching feet is a common feature irrespective of age and caste. In Yogi’s case reverence come before respect.
In fact, eyebrows were raised when firebrand BSP national president Mayawati, whose politics revolves around Brahminical culture in the state, had started encouraging feet touching. Soon after she had become chief minister of a majority government in 2007, officers had queued up to wish her as she occupied the sofa, with her feet extended. Many took the message and brazenly touched her feet.
Other chief ministers known to encourage the unwarranted tradition while in office were Kamlapati Tripathi, HN Bahuguna and ND Tiwari. It is another matter that even young chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had a queue of MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha waiting to touch his feet.
However, usually people usually make gestures of touching feet. But Piyush Goyal or for that matter Raghuraj Pratap Singh were bent half in reverence.
Not many in the opposition thus muster enough guts to oppose Yogi, the mahant, though they will not spare him as CM. Some may still prefer silence.