Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for trying to defend self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu in connection with the sexual assault case, and said his supporters who had attacked media personnel have shared the same ideology of the saffron party.
“I condemn the attack on media by Asaram Bapu’s followers. They are of the same ideology as BJP, who cannot tolerate criticism. I am amazed by the attitude of Sushma Swaraj. She has been active on women issues, but she has remained silent on the issue of Asaram Bapu. It demonstrates the utter double standards practice of BJP. I’d like to know who is not supporting Asaram Bapu in the BJP. BJP is trying to defend him, as they share an old relationship with him,” he said.
The self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who was arrested late on Saturday night from his ashram in Indore, brought to Jodhpur, where he was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. Taking a jibe at Asaram Bapu, accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl, Congress general secretary said this running around by the self-styled godman Bapu was hurting his image.
“If Asaram is innocent then why is he feeling nervousIJ law is equal for all. This running around is hurting his image,” he told media here. According to reports, the 75-year-old spent the night with police escorts at the airport lounge in Indore. He is being flown on a commercial plane to Jodhpur via Delhi. Ahead of his arrival, a strong posse of security personnel was deployed at the airport to prevent his large legion of supporters from staging big shows of support.
His ashram was sealed on Saturday after some of his followers attacked the media for reporting that his arrest was imminent. His arrest came two days after he missed a deadline issued by the Jodhpur police to appear before it for questioning. His son Narayan Sai had claimed yesterday that the 75-year-old was unwell and could not be interrogated.