Ramesh Saxena, a former BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh, has advised farmers to chant the hymn dedicated to Hanuman daily for an hour to ward off natural calamity.
New Delhi: A former Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Madhya Pradesh, has offered an easy solution to protect crops from getting destroyed by unexpected weather like heavy rains, thunderstorm and snowfall: chant Hanuman Chalisa.
According to Scroll, Ramesh Saxena, former MLA from Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore constituency, on January 12 said that in light of bad weather prediction for the next few days, farmers must daily chant the hymn dedicated to Hanuman for an hour in order to prevent any natural calamity.
“I want to tell the farmers that Hanuman Chalisa holds only protection against these natural disturbances. It’s my appeal that farmers in every village chant Hanuman Chalisa for at least an hour daily in groups,” said Saxena, who was the BJP MLA between 1993 and 2008. “I can bet that only Hanuman Chalisa can render protection from the natural disasters. Chanting Hanuman Chalisa alone will ensure that there will be no thunderstorm, heavy rain or hailstorm”
Saxena’s absurd appeal got support from the state agriculture minister Balkrishna Patidar who was quoted by News18 as saying that this is a “religious belief” and if someone wants to read the Hanuman Chalisa, there is nothing wrong with it.
According to the New Indian Express, Patidar further added that reciting the devotional hymn would boost the “inner strength” of the farmers.
Northern states including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand witnessed some snowfall on Monday. Rains were reported from Dehradun and other places.
On Sunday, three people died in an unseasonal hailstorm that lashed parts of central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. The storm severely damaged grapes, cotton, green gram and wheat crops, Scroll reported. Several districts of Maharashtra experienced heavy rains as well.
(With agency inputs)