The News Broadcasters and Digital Association has found a News18 India interview with self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba, as violative of its code of ethics and advisories on religious harmony and superstition.

The interview, which was aired on July 10 last year, has to be taken down within a week from all digital platforms, as per an NBDSA order.

The association made the decision while hearing a complaint from Indrajeet Ghorpade, a Pune-based techie and activist who has filed many complaints against news channels in the past.

According to the complaint, managing editor Kishore Ajwani’s interview with Shastri had promoted the idea of Hindu Rashtra, the “love jihad” conspiracy theory, and superstition, with the self-styled godman’s claims that he could find diamonds, predict polls, and heal people through supernatural powers.

“The seer who was invited by the broadcaster made several claims during the broadcast, which promoted superstition. Furthermore, during the broadcast, several statements were made by the seer concerning Hindu Rashtra and religion, which were divisive in nature, such as that in order to live in India it would be mandatory to say ‘Sita Ram’ and that Islam asked men to trap young Hindu girls in love jihad and then kill them,” the NBDSA observed in its decision on Monday.

The association warned the channel and advised it against inviting individuals whose views could be construed as promoting superstitious beliefs and practices.

The interview was available on News18 India’s YouTube channel at the time of writing this report.

Read this to understand Shastri’s meteoric rise.

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