Sant Kabir Was Respected by Hindus & Muslims: Modi at Maghar Rally

File Image of PM Narendra Modi at a rally in Mathura.

(Photo: Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, 28 June, addressed a public rally and laid the foundation stone of a research institute at Maghar in Uttar Pradesh to mark the 500th death anniversary of Kabir Das, the mystic poet and saint.

Addressing the rally, PM Modi said:

Sant Kabir did not believe in caste… He believed everyone was equal. He became a symbol of the poor and downtrodden.

He also invoked Kabir, Gandhi and Ambedkar to attack the opposition, blaming the parties for “encouraging turmoil for political gains.”

Apart from offering a chadar at the shrine, the Prime Minister also visited the Sant Kabir cave and unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Kabir Academy,

During his monthly radio address, Mann Ki Baat, on 23 June, the prime minister had recalled the contribution of 15th-century poet and saint Kabir Das in dispelling superstitions. Kabir Das chose Maghar as the place where he would breathe his last, despite the popular belief that those who die there do not go to heaven, Modi said.

"Just as the prime minister gave a message from the Gorakhnath peeth in Gorakhpur in 2014, he will give a message from the nirvan sthali of Kabir Das this time," zonal vice president of the BJP, Satyendra Sinha told PTI ahead of the rally.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also attended the rally.

(This is a developing story and will be updated.)