A political storm has erupted in Chhattisgarh after a video surfaced showing Bageshwar Dham head and spiritual preacher Dhirendra Shastri arriving in the state on a government aircraft, with an on-duty police officer seen touching his feet, triggering a sharp war of words between the Congress and the BJP.

The video, widely circulated on social media, shows Shastri arriving in Raipur along with state minister Guru Khushwant Saheb on Thursday ahead of a religious discourse in Bhilai town of Durg district.

As the two step out of the aircraft, a uniformed police officer is seen first saluting the minister, then removing his cap and shoes before bowing to touch the preacher’s feet.

The visuals quickly sparked outrage, with critics questioning both the conduct of the police officer and the use of a state aircraft for a religious figure.

Several social media users termed the act a “mockery of uniform ethics” and alleged misuse of public resources, while others defended the officer, saying he followed protocol first and then expressed personal faith.

The Congress mounted a sharp attack on the BJP-led state government, accusing it of misusing public money.

Chhattisgarh Congress communication department head Sushil Anand Shukla said sending a government aircraft to ferry Shastri amounted to a “wastage of public funds” and a “misuse of the state exchequer”.

Shukla questioned under what constitutional authority the aircraft was arranged for Shastri and demanded a formal clarification from the government.

He also claimed that Shastri was neither a recognised religious head nor a peethadhishwar of any established shrine or ashram.

Accusing the preacher of promoting social discord, Shukla said his actions ran contrary to the inclusive spirit of Sanatan Dharma.

Citing Lord Hanuman, he said the deity symbolised love, tolerance, courage and forgiveness, and added that those who invoke his name must embody those values. “Superstition and hypocrisy cannot survive for long,” he said.

The BJP, however, came out strongly in defence of both the officer and the preacher. State BJP chief spokesperson and MP Santosh Pandey said there was nothing objectionable about a police officer offering obeisance to a religious guru as a matter of personal faith.

“Don’t Muslim railway staff or airport employees offer namaz at stations and airports? Why does it trouble the Congress when a police officer bows before a guru?” Pandey asked.

On the use of the state aircraft, he turned the tables on the Opposition, asking during whose tenure a ‘tantrik’ was allegedly allowed to use government helicopters and planes.

Pandey also accused the Congress of being historically opposed to Sanatan Dharma, alleging that its leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Congress leader Priyank Kharge, had made derogatory remarks comparing Sanatan Dharma to diseases.

“Opposition to Sanatan is in the Congress’s blood,” he said.

Meanwhile, a senior police official said no action had been taken so far against the officer, who is posted as the station house officer of Mana Basti police station in Raipur.

The controversy continues to snowball, with the video fuelling a wider debate over faith, official conduct and the use of public resources in a politically charged atmosphere.