The daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, stirred a fresh controversy when she termed Hindutva a “disease“. In return, the head of Bageshwar Dham, Dhirendra Shastri, lashed out at her for making the highly contentious anti-Hindu remark. Slamming the J&K leader, the Hindu seer said that Hindutva is not a disease rather a medicine. He stated that people who make such remarks against Hindutva should be admitted to a mental hospital.
Speaking to the media, Dhirendra Shastri said that he came to know about Iltija Mufti’s statement through the media, where she called Hindutva a disease that needs to be treated. He called her statement absurd and said she should get treatment for her mindset, emphasizing that such people should be sent to a mental hospital.
Shastri further said that these people are fools. He said that Hindutva is not a disease but a treatment for the world. Hindutva is the way of life and the philosophy of living. This is a must for unifying the world. Hindutva is the concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” or the world as one family. It’s the thought that one feels to see Ram in every being, see Narayan in humans, and see Gauri in daughters.
He also said that such people are the ones who marry their uncles and cousins. He said Iltija Mufti should be ashamed of her statement. It is worth mentioning that Iltija’s mother, Mehbooba Mufti, had married her uncle, Javed.
In a blatant anti-Hindu tirade, Iltija Mufti had criticized Hindutva, saying it is an ideology of hatred promoted by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the 1940s.
In peddling false equivalces and equate Hindutva with radical Islamist terror groups, the J&K based leader ranted that the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” is not associated with “Ram Rajya,” but is instead linked to lynching, often shouted when a Muslim child is beaten. She argued that Hindutva is a disease that needs to be treated.
Following her controversial remarks, Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader Ravinder Raina asked Iltija Mufti to apologize.
He said, “The PDP leader has used very disrespectful language. Such language should not be used. There may be political differences, but disrespectful language is not acceptable. Iltija Mufti should apologise for her statement.”
Iltija Mufti contested the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir instead of her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, who had opted out of the contest. Iltija contested from the Bijbehara seat, which has been held by the Mufti family for 25 years, but Iltija suffered a humiliating defeat in her maiden contest.
