Dwarka Peeth seer fumes over 'Har Har Modi' slogan; complains to RSS

Dwarka Peeth Shankarachayra Swaroopanand Saraswati has raised objection to "Har Har Modi" slogan in favour of BJP PM nominee Narendra Modi and registered a strong protest with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat asking him to stop such "vyakti puja" (eulogising of individual).

The Shankaracharya, who is considered close to Congress leaders like Digvijay Singh, is unhappy over the traditional chant "Har Har Mahadev" raised to hail Lord Shiv being "modified" into "Har Har Modi" to spruce up Modi's campaign who is contesting from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Modi is also contesting from Vadodara in his home state.

Some enthusiastic supporters are using slogan "Har Har Modi…" I respect their enthusiasm but request not to use this slogan in the future.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2014

"After learning about it, I called up Bhagwat yesterday and asked him to stop such chanting, which is an insult to Lord Shiva. I told him that converting 'Har har Mahadev' into 'Har Har Modi' must be stopped. Instead of worshipping god, it is an attempt to worship a particular human being and is against Hindu religion," Swaroopanand told PTI over phone today.

The seer said he was flooded with phone calls from devotees, who are deeply hurt by such slogan-chanting. "In his reply, Bhagwat claimed that RSS is always against man-worshiping. He also claimed that such chanting is done out of over enthusiasm by some supporters, and it is not an intentional effort by BJP," said Swaroopanand.

However, he remains unconvinced by the explanation given by Bhagwat. "If RSS doesn't endorse man-worshipping then why it has not done anything to stop such activities?...Why Modi is not opposing it from the very first moment," he asked.

The slogan has also angered other political parties which have raised objections against it. "People say that no one can stop Modi. But, if such activities continue, God will stop him," said Swaroopanand.
He pointed out an instance of "deification" of Modi in Chhattisgarh."Some youth BJP leaders in Chhattisgarh removed a 'shivling' from the temple and installed Narendra Modi's photo into it. They must refrain from indulging in Vyakti-Puja," the Shankaracharya said.