Over three weeks after Rampal's arrest, the BJP has come down heavily on ashrams "which have become centres of terror in the name of faith" and sought a ban on them.
"Who should be called a saint or a baba? The kind of exploitation that was being done in the name of superstition only shows that we are still living in dark ages," said an editorial in the latest edition of party mouthpiece "Kamal Sandesh".
The publication, edited by party's Rajya Sabha MP and vice-president Prabhat Jha, blamed the Congress for allowing Rampal to spread his wings by "giving shelter" to such babas.
"People like Rampal are not born in a day. They spread their network of superstition gradually in the society. In the name of miracle the ignorant and poor people who are burdened economically become prey of their abuse. There should be a ban on these types of ashrams at the very beginning itself. It is an irony that Congress government led by Hooda was in power for last ten years in Haryana," it said.
The Rampal issue had sparked off a political row in BJP-ruled Haryana. One ashram, Dera Sacha Sauda had announced its support to BJP in the run-up to the assembly election in the state. Police had arrested Rampal after he refused to comply with court's summons, prompting Punjab and Haryana high court to issue non-bailable warrants against him.
Seeking an investigation into such ashrams, the editorial said "In the name of miracle, the ignorant and poor people who are burdened economically become prey of their abuse" and described the "lawlessness" as nothing less than sedition.
The party mouthpiece also praised the BJP government in the state for its handling of the situation ahead of the arrest and said it also sent the message that nobody was above the law. "The manner in which Baba tried to use newly born children and their mothers as his shield appeared something related to films. Who will support the act of keeping followers in confinement for one's security," it said.
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