Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Responding to allegations made by BJP Ministers, spiritual leader Rudra Guru of the Satnami Sect made a surprising move on Wednesday by voluntarily presenting himself at the SP Office, wishing to surrender.
Despite initial reluctance from police officials, Guru persisted at the SP Office for over two hours, insisting on being taken into custody.
"I am deeply shocked by the baseless accusations levelled against me by the BJP Ministers, alleging my involvement in inciting the crowd. Such accusations are not only demeaning but also insulting to a religious spiritual leader like myself, who participated in the event upon the request of followers and devotees," stated Rudra Guru, a former Congress Minister.
Challenging the ministers to provide evidence to support their claims, Guru warned, "If they have any proof, they should instruct the police to arrest me. Otherwise, I will pursue legal action against all these BJP Ministers for defamation."
Guru acknowledged his presence at the peaceful protest, admitting to briefly sitting on the stage for five minutes without uttering a word. "If I did not utter a single word on the stage, how could I have incited the crowd?" he questioned.
The controversy stems from accusations made by Sai Government's three Ministers—Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, Revenue Minister Tankram Verma, and Food Minister Dayal Das Baghel—during a press conference at the New Circuit House in Raipur on Tuesday. They alleged the involvement of Congress leaders in the violent protests that resulted in arson of government buildings in Baloudabazar. The protestors set on fire the Collectorate – SP Office and Tehsil Office, leading to major damage to the exchequer in terms of revenue and documents. 120 years old documents, public and private vehicles got engulfed in that fire.
Meanwhile, after the incident, Minister Baghel specifically accused the former Congress Minister, stating, "Congress leaders instigated the people of the Satnami community for such an incident." Congress MLA Devendra Yadav, Congress MLA Kavita Pran Lahre, and former Minister Rudra Kumar were named as participants in the protest in Balodabazar town.
The situation surrounding the Baloudabazar violence case is rapidly evolving with unexpected developments. Following the removal of the SP and Collector from the district by the government, the three cabinet Ministers held a press conference, accusing Congress leaders of inciting the mob.
Congress also constituted a seven member committee to probe the incident. Meanwhile, former CM Bhupesh Baghel alleged that it is an outcome of the failure of the Sai government.
Complete failure of intelligence, administrative machinery resulted into such a big incident in Baloudabazar, owing to the responsibility of failure, the government must resign, the former CM said.
