Satpal Maharaj

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Satpal Maharaj
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Constituency Garhwal
Personal details
Born (1951-09-21) 21 September 1951 (age 72)
Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakhand)
Political party Bhartiya Janata Party
Spouse(s) Amrita Rawat
Children Shradhey, Suyesh
Residence Dehradun, 2/12 East Punjabi Bagh, Delhi
Religion Hindu

Satpal Singh Rawat (born 21 September 1951), also known as Satpal Maharaj, was a member of the lower house of the Parliament of India (15th Lok Sabha) for the Indian National Congress party. He left Congress Party and joined Bharatiya Janata Party BJP on 21 March 2014.

He is a founder of the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti, an offshoot of the Divine Light Mission, later registered as a non-for profit organization registered under Society Registration act of India, 1961. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 21 March 2014. His wife still continues to be a member of Indian National Congress (INC) party.

Family

Satpal Maharaj was educated at St. George's College, Mussoorie.[1]

Divine Light Mission

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The Divine Light Mission (DLM) (Divya Sandesh Parishad) was an organization founded in 1960 by Satpal Maharaj's father, guru Shri Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth and youngest son, Guru Maharaj Prem Rawat.

During the customary 13 days of mourning following Shri Hans's death, the succession was discussed by DLM officials. The youngest son, 8-year-old Prem Rawat, addressed the crowd and was accepted by them, as well as by his mother and brothers, as the "Perfect Master". Though Prem Rawat was officially the leader of the DLM, because of his youth authority was shared by the whole family.

For the next eight years Hans Maharaj's family supported Prem Rawat as his successor but the latter's decision to marry a Westerner in 1974 precipitated a struggle for control of DLM. Mata returned to India and appointed her oldest son Satpal as the new head of DLM India, claiming that Prem Rawat had broken his spiritual discipline by marrying a foreigner. The Western premies remained loyal to Prem Rawat, but the marriage led to a permanent rift within the family and was also credited with causing a profound disruption in the movement.

After the split, Satpal became the new head of the organization in India following a legal battle with his brother Prem Rawat.

The self-published history of the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti though reports a smooth transition and succession from his father, and omits any mention of the scandal around the family feud that split the movement.[2]

Manav Utthan Seva Samiti

As of 2014, Maharaj is the head of the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti.[3] He teaches the meditation techniques called "Knowledge".[3] The movement has students and ashrmas all across the globe with its head office in India. It claims millions of members and has events that regularly draw 100,000 people or more to its ashrams in Haridwar and New Delhi.[3] According to Lise McKean in the book Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement, in the Samiti cult of the holy family, Maharaj, his wife Amrita Rawat and their two sons are worshiped as divine beings, with individual members of the holy family held to represent diverse aspects of divinity.

The MUSS has an associated volunteer organisation, the Manav Sewa Dal, founded by Maharaj in 1976.[4][5]

On 13 August 2014, Haridwar Development Authority (HDA) sealed Satpal Maharaj's ashram near Muni ki Reti in Rishikesh, after having served a notice in this regard on 7 August 2014 saying that it was constructed allegedly in violation of the August 2013 high court ban on any construction within 200 metres of the state's rivers. [6]

On 21 January 2015, there was a murder at Satpal's Allahabad ashram.[7]

On 23 May 2015, the state high court of Jammu & Kashmir issued a notice for violation of the orders of the High Court at a gathering held by Satpal Ji Maharaj on 2 and 3 May at the Maulana Azad Stadium.[8]

Lok Sabha Results

1989 - Lost Pauri Garhwal against Chandra Mohan (Janata Dal)

1991 - Lost Pauri Garhwal against Bhuwan Chand (BJP)

1996 - Won Pauri Garhwal (1,63,528 votes) against Shri Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri(BJP) (1,48,508 votes).

1998 - Lost Pauri Garhwal (1,05,311 votes) against Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri( 2,80,258 votes)

1999 - Lost Pauri Garhwal (2,10,063 votes) against Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri( 2,39,745 votes)

2004 - Lost Pauri Garhwal

2008(By elections) : Lost Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha to TPS Rawat(BJP) when Khanduri quit his Parliamentary seat to enter the state Assembly.

2009 - Won Pauri Garhwal Seat(236949 votes) against Tejpal Singh Rawat(219552 votes)

2014 - Did Not contest the Lok Sabha elections and shifted loyalty from Indian National Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party.

Political career

In 1989, Satpal Maharaj started his political career in as a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) party.

In 1995, he split from the Congress along with Narayan Dutt Tiwari and joined Congress (Tiwari).

He served as Union Minister for Railroads in 1996 and for Finance in 1997.

1n 1999, rejoined Congress when Sonia Gandhi took over the reins of the Congress Party.

In 2010, he was the head of the 20-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence.[9]

in 2012, being close to Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Satpal was nominated by his political party to pacify Narayan Dutt Tiwari, who had threatened to work against the party during the 2012 election. They believed that by nominating Satpal, as well as three other followers of Tiwari, that Tiwari would not follow through on his threats.[10] Narayan Dutt then campaigned for Satpal and his wife Amrita in 2012 elections[11]

After the 2012 elections, there was infighting within the Uttarakhand Congress and Harish Rawat hit back at Satpal Maharaj and said Satpal Maharaj should feel happy that he lost the race of Chief Ministership of the state.[12] Vijay Bahuguna was made the chief minister after all the infighting ended.[13]

In February 2014, Satpal openly criticised Harish Rawat’s elevation as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.[14]

On 20 February 2014, the 15th Lok Sabha statics revealed that Satpal Maharaj has the most dismal performance in MPPLAD, spending just 36.78%.[15]

In March 2014, Satpal decides not to contest the Lok Sabha elections blamed chief Minister Harish Rawat forced him to take the extreme step.[16] Due to the numerous scams and corruption done by Congress during its rule a number of congress candidates are shying from fighting the elections.[17]

On 21 March 2014, he quit the Indian National Congress and joined Bharatiya Janata Party.[18]

References

  1. ↑ http://myneta.info/ls2009/candidate.php?candidate_id=8244
  2. ↑ McKean 1996, p. 54
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McKean 1996, pp. 53-57
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  5. ↑ Manav Sewa Dal. Retrieved 2009-08-18.[dead link]
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/db-issues-notice-to-cs-others-5/
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/mp-satpal-maharaj-flays-rawats-elevation-as-cm.html
  15. ↑ http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-mp-satpal-maharaj-has-worst-mpplads-record-sachin-yet-to-start-innings-1965791
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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