Swamiji responds to Amit Shah’s ‘Angad’s Foot’ remark

Metro India News | VARANASI : Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comparison of the BJP government’s position in Uttar Pradesh to “Angad’s foot,” Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati ‘1008’ said that politicians should understand that selectively using metaphors from religious scriptures to suit their convenience does not demonstrate respect for religion but rather amounts to an oversimplification of its deeper teachings.

According to the Shankaracharya, Angad had himself declared in Ravana’s court that his foot remained firmly planted because of the principles of dharma, truth and justice followed by Lord Shri Ram, who is revered as Maryada Purushottam.

Taking a sharp swipe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, the Shankaracharya alleged that a government under which young religious students (batuks) were subjected to having their traditional hair tufts pulled, saints were allegedly subjected to brutal assaults, and millions of cows were sent for slaughter could not be equated with the ideals of Ram Rajya. According to Sanjay Pandey, media in-charge of the Shankaracharya, the remarks were made by the religious leader during a discourse in Kashi (Varanasi), shortly before his departure for Gujarat.