I am a powerful man, can break government: BJP's Sakshi Maharaj

February 03, 2015 23:20

Reuters reports: In an ashram near the Ganga in the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand, priest-turned-politician Sakshi Maharaj mimes rowing a boat to illustrate what will happen if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government ignores Hindu nationalist demands.

"Modi will have to be a boatman: one oar must focus on the economy and the other must concentrate on the Hindu agenda," says Maharaj, clad in saffron robes and sitting cross-legged on a bed.

He twirls his bejewelled fingers in the air, explaining that otherwise the boat will spin in circles.

The Hindu priest, who has been charged with rioting and inciting communal violence, is held up by opponents as evidence of hardline religious elements in the ruling BJP whose behaviour is threatening the government's economic reform agenda.

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