Hindu outfit removes Sai Baba idols from several temples in Varanasi

PTC News Desk: Sai Baba statues were removed from several temples in Varanasi as part of a campaign started by the 'Sanatan Rakshak Dal'.

Of them, the group removed a Sai Baba statue from the Bada Ganesh Temple and placed it outside the temple grounds.

Rammu Guru, the temple's head priest, stated, "Sai Baba was being worshipped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures." Similarly, Shankar Puri, the Annapurna Temple's head priest, stated, "There is no mention of Sai Baba worship in the scriptures."

Meanwhile, Raju Das, the Mahant of Ayodhya's Hanumangarhi temple, stated, "Sai can be a 'dharm guru', a'mahapurush', a 'peer' or a 'aulia', but he cannot be a 'Bhagvaan'. I am thankful to the individual in Varanasi who removed the idol (of Sai Baba). I encourage all Sanatanis in the country to remove the idol of 'Chaand Peer' (Sai Baba) from their temples."

Ajay Sharma, state head of the Sanatan Rakshak Dal, said "Only worship of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity, should take place in Kashi (Varanasi). Respecting devotee feelings, statues of Sai Baba have already been removed from ten temples. In the coming days, statues will also be taken from the Agastyakunda and Bhuteshwar temples."

Samar Ghosh, the priest of the Sai Temple in Sant Raghuvar Das Nagar in the city's Sigra neighbourhood, stated, "Those who claim to be Sanatanis today are the same people who established Sai Baba in the temples, and now they are the ones who have removed him. All the gods are one. God can appear in any shape. Such acts are wrong. They will hurt people's faith and spread discord in society."