Image Courtesy:indiatimes.com

‘Yogi’ Devnath of Gujarat, probably wants to be as famous as the saffron clad monk-politician Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. However, Devnath of Gujarat, is at best, a diet version of Adityanath. Though he has started to mouth lines loved by the Hindutva camp, purportedly in the hope it will make him relevant in poll-bound  Gujarat, he does not come close to the CM, often seen as the political successor of Prime Minister Naredra Modi, who, interestingly, hails from Gujarat. 

Devnath is perhaps hoping to get the attention of the Prime Minister who resides in Delhi, the National Capital through which the Yamunna flows. Devnath has now said Delhi’s Jama Masjid, is “our Jamuna Mandir”. 

जामा मस्जीद नही वो ज़मुना मन्दिर है हमारा 😠

— Yogi Devnath (@YogiDevnath2) May 14, 2022

The world renowned Jama Masjid of Delhi, formally named Masjid-i Jehan-Numa, is said to be one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656, and is in Chandni Chowk. Ironically Devnath, in his claim, is not even original. He is merely parroting the old lines used by other Hindutva leaders such as Bharatiya Janata Party (BKP) leader MP Vinay Katiyar who had claimed in 2017 that “Delhi’s Jama Masjid was known as Jamuna Devi Temple before the capital was sacked by Mughals.” That the 17th-century mosque was built by Shah Jahan, who also built Taj Mahal, and Red Fort, was perhaps an added thorn in the right-wing's side. Katiyar had then claimed that “there were about 6,000 places that were broken down by the Mughal emperors. Delhi’s Jama Masjid was originally Jamuna Devi temple, Taj Mahal was Tejo Mahalaya.”

However Devnath, who on his own website described his “LIFE ARCHIVEMENT (original spelling)” to list his posts of “Mahant Shri Ekaldham Ashram; Chairman Shri Kutch Sadhu Samaj, Incharge Hindu Yuva Vahini Gujarat, Member Akhil Bharat Sadhu Samaj, Active activist Bharatiya Janata Party (25 years)”, does not even have an original ‘controversy to call his own’. 

Hailing from Rajasthan, Devnath has claimed he has been a monk since he was 12, and then moved to Gujarat. According to a Vibes of India report there have even allegations of Devnath “buying” paid followers and “creating a halo of publicity for himself”. He of course denies this. “I am confident of even defeating Mrs Sonia Gandhi, if I am given a ticket,” he reportedly told Vibes of India. He too belongs to the Nath sect, and it has been reported that even “Adityanath has visited his ashram known as Ekaldham in Kutch after becoming the Chief Minister.'' Devnath had actively campaigned for Adityanath in the recent elections too.

According to news reports, his hobnobbing with politicians is slowly helping him get followers beyond Gujarat. He is active on social media, and has millions of followers on Twitter and on his various Facebook pages. Devnath has also been vocal about "reclaiming" Mathura, Uttar Pradesh the same way Ayodhya was. That in itself needs no explanation of what his intentions are. He has now demanded that the Places of Worship Act, 1991, be removed to realise the “Kashi, Mathura” Hindutva project.

यदि काशी, मथुरा और अन्य धर्मस्थल वापस चाहिए तो अब इस काले कानून- PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT 1991 को हटाने के लिए संगठित होकर आवाज उठानी होगी।#Remove1991WorshipAct

— Yogi Devnath (@YogiDevnath2) May 23, 2022

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