Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday reacted sharply to self-styled godman Baba Bageshwar's comments on making India a "Hindu nation", saying these comments had no value as they were made by those who had no knowledge of the country's freedom struggle or the Constitution.
"Those (Bageshwar Baba) who are talking about such things (Hindu nation) were not born when the country became independent and the Constitution was implemented. Would they change the name of the country? We have 7 communities in the country and everyone has the equal right to believe in their respective religions. We never make any obstructions to any. We respect every religion and they are free to worship their gods," he said after the inauguration of the Transport Department's new building here.
"People like him (Baba Bageshwar) are talking on his own and it has no value. We believe in the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and leaders who worked with him. I was not born at that time, my father who participated in the freedom struggle told me about everything and we are doing development on the basis of their ideology. It is surprising that some people are speaking for Hindu nation. What is the need of it? Everyone has the right to follow their respective religions, there is no hurdle in it," he added.
"We have seven communities in the country - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains and people of these communities have equal rights as per the constitution. The number of Parsis in the country is small, they mainly live in the Mumbai region but they have equal rights and we respect it. We always ensure that no one would feel any inconvenience in any community in Bihar. It is not allowed to say anything beyond the Constitution," Nitish Kumar said.
"If anyone wants to amend the Constitution, it needs two-third majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Amendment happened only with the decision of all parties," he said.
Reacting to the allegations that his government working against "Sanatan Dharma", he said: "They are talking against me to get some weight in the party. Hence, they are making wild allegations against me."
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