Rape convict Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is out on a 40-day parole, has sparked another controversy by releasing a music video on his YouTube channel ‘Sadi Nit Diwali’.
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year jail for raping his two disciples at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa but is out on parole. He was first convicted in August 2017 by a special CBI court in Panchkula.
There are restrictions imposed on him like being disallowed from meeting people except his family members and not being allowed to partake in congregations, the rape-convicted baba released music video which triggered anger among people on how his victims have been mocked by the kind of liberty he is enjoying right now.
"People celebrate Diwali on one day, but thanks to you (Satnam and Mastana) every day is Diwali for us," the lyrics say.
In less than 3 days, the video gathered more than 10 million views and his followers are even promoting the song on social media platforms. Look at how his enthusiastic followers reacted to Rahim's video:
In the past few days, at least two BJP leaders, including Haryana Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa and Karnal Mayor Renu Bala Gupta were found interacting with Ram Rahim online and seeking his blessings.
The Congress candidate for Adampur bypoll, Jai Prakash, too came forward claiming that he was Ram Rahim's biggest disciple.
Politicians like Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra criticised and called for a codified parole legislation like in the US and Britain. She also, said that parole cannot be solely be left to biased state govt officials on pick and choose basis.
Look at her tweet below:
How and why?
That's definitely questionable. Haryana will be witnessing panchayat elections and the bypolls to the Adampur Assembly seat next month and coincidentally the timings of the parole of Rahim is the same, which is the third such instance in the current year. Opposition leaders allege it is to attract the votes of Ram Rahim's Dera's supporters.
He had earlier come out of prison on a month-long parole in June, ahead of the elections to 46 municipalities in Haryana. He was granted three weeks furlough from February 7, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly elections.
Seeing a rape and murder convict hosting Satsang on October 19 and releasing a music video on October 25, a wave of national outrage has emerged, with a demand to end Ram Rahim's parole. Netizens even commented on Twitter that "if Baba Ram Rahim is on parole and delivering Parvachans is normal, then it means rape and murder is no more a crime today". Some social media users even said that this is Indian vote bank politics.
Rahim released videos of the Diwali celebrations at the Dera and he termed his imprisonment as a 'spiritual journey' and added that he was writing a book on it.
In 2019, Ram Rahim and three others were convicted for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Last year, he, along with four others, was convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill the Dera's former manager Ranjit Singh, who was shot dead in 2002.
Furore over granting Ram Rahim parole ahead of polls
The decision to grant rape convict Baba Ram Rahim parole ahead of the Adampur bypoll in Haryana on November 3 and panchayat elections has triggered massive a furore.
Ever since he is out on parole, Ram Rahim has been conducting online discourses from his Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh. These discourses have been attended by thousands of his followers, including several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Haryana.
