Register FIR against PM Modi, Union ministers for murdering Ganga crusader Swami Sanandji

Members of Matu Jansangathan, a collective that works for dam-affected villagers in Uttarakhand have demanded an FIR against PM Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister Uma Bharti and to charge them with the murder of Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand.

GD Agarwal

Haridwar: Members of Matu Jansangathan, a collective that works for dam-affected villagers in Uttarakhand have demanded an FIR against PM Modi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister Uma Bharti and to charge them with the murder of Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (G.D Agarwal)

“We, Matu Jansangathan and other organisations express our anguish on the Government assassination of Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (G. D. Agrawal) whose contributions to India’s environmental planning and design remains unparalleled till date in the country, he was CPCB’s first member secretary and a passionate engineer who inspired scores of students while at IIT-Kanpur,” said Vimalbhai of Matu Jansangathan.

They said that the current govt ignored the issues raised by Swamiji whereas the Congress acknowledged the issues and notified a stretch of the Bhagirathi river as free flow.

They were livid the govt heads call themselves sons and servants of Ganga. Nitin Gadkari is the road and highways ministers besides being the minister of water resources, shipping, river development and Ganga Rejuvenation. He calls himself the servant of Ganga.

“Uma Bharti, who calls herself the daughter of Ganga served the Ganga ministry and indulged in extravaganzas in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. She put up a show of the Namami gange project worth Rs. 22,000 crore and she failed miserably when it came to upholding her words towards Ganga and Swamiji,” they said.

Vimalbhai added that Swamiji took to fasting because he saw that the govt did not respond to him for 4 years and with their tenure coming to an end and the work on dams continuing unabated on Ganga, he decided to go on a hunger strike.

They accused the govt of prolonging his suffering and causing his death. “Swamiji sent many letters to PM Modi but they went unnoticed. To divert the attention, they got onboard former CM Nishank who is a supporter of damns and was party to many dam projects during his tenure. They callously prolonged the process and Swamiji’s body gave in. When he became terribly weak and had announced to give u water, on Oct 10, Swamiji was taken to the hospital by the district magistrate. They forcibly lifted Swamiji along with his chair into the ambulance and drove away. They did not have the basic courtesy to show a senior citizen who was 87 years old. They did not care about taking him on a stretcher. The govt just wanted to wriggle out of this problem,” they said.

“We request an FIR against PM Modi, Nitin Gadkari and Uma Bharti for the assassination of Swamiji because Swamiji had said that if he died, PM Modi will be responsible for his death,” they said.

Swami Sanandji had fought for the closure of the dams on Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers. Matu Jansangathan has been raising the environment and ecology-related issues and “We are very grieved that the government did not pay heed to any of the issues. They neither thought of environment nor strengthened its own case advocated by the Board of Priests for Ganga. They have shown their true face that they only care about big dam companies. They do not care about the sanctity of Ganga but the resources and funds that can be extracted from it. Either in the form of waterways, running cruisers on its waters, misusing its water or just making the river a vote bank issue.”

They added that none of the Akhadas of Rishikesh, Haridwar or Sant Samaj in Ashrams stood with Swamiji. “Even they only care about the material gains they can acquire from the river. Baba Ramdev and Swami Chidanad of Rishikesh are also guilty. These saints conducting big seminars, conferences, meetings, collecting funds from around the world, inviting people to ashrams to perform Ganga Aarti besides the rest of the Sant Samaj, in reality, will bear the taint of killing the son of Ganga,” they said.

“We demand an FIR be registered under Sec. 302 of IPC, on Mr Modi, Mr Nitin Gadkari and Ms Uma Bharti for being complicit in the death of Swamiji. Also, all the Ashrams and sadhus should support the issues raised by Swami Sanandji to stop the construction of dams and stand for the cause for which Swamiji had to pay with his life,” Vimalbhai wrote.