The controversial comments made by maverick film critic Kathi Mahesh on Lord Rama and the strong reaction from spiritual guru Swamy Paripoornananda of Sri Peetham, leading to their banishment from Telangana ended up in a big drama.
Within a gap of one day, the Telangana police served externment orders on Kathi Mahesh and Paripoornananda and drove them away from Hyderabad. As expected, there was a commotion from both the sides.
While Dalit groups and social activists raised a banner of revolt against the Telangana government for targeting Mahesh and curtailing his freedom of speech, the Hindu groups including BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal also raised protests and complained to Governor E S L Narasimhan against ill-treating a Hindu spiritual leader like Swamy Paripoornanda.
But after reaching their respective areas, both Mahesh and Paripoornananda appeared to have softened their stand.
Mahesh sought to prove that he was also a Hindu and a devotee of Lord Rama by posting a video clipping in the social media in which he beautifully sang raising Lord Rama.
He also strongly condemned the banishment of Paripoornanda Swamy just because he believed in his principles.
“If the government goes on banishing people for expressing their views, nobody would be left in Hyderabad,” he said.
On his part, Paripoornananda also defended Kathi Mahesh.
“I heard him singing the sloka on Lord Rama. It means he has started reforming himself. I wholeheartedly pardon him for his earlier comments. He is like sage Valmiki who wrote Ramayana. Valmiki was also speaking against the god when he was just a tribal. After writing Ramayana, he became a sage,” he said.
Nevertheless, both Mahesh and Paripoornananda provided a lot of masala to the media channels for more than a week. And the people have become fools!
