By Andrew MacAskill and Rupam Jain Nair

RISHIKESH, India Tue Feb 3, 2015 12:35pm IST

1 of 2. Priest-turned-lawmaker Sakshi Maharaj poses at his residence in New Delhi January 30, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee

RISHIKESH, India (Reuters) - In an ashram near the Ganges river in the Himalayan foothills, priest-turned-politician Sakshi Maharaj mimes rowing a boat to illustrate what will happen if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government ignores Hindu nationalist demands.

"Modi will have to be a boatman: one oar must focus on the economy and the other must concentrate on the Hindu agenda," says Maharaj, clad in saffron robes and sitting cross-legged on a bed.

He twirls his bejewelled fingers in the air, explaining that otherwise the boat will spin in circles.

The Hindu priest, who has been charged with rioting and inciting communal violence, is the embodiment of hardline religious elements in Modi's party whose strident behaviour is dragging on the government's economic reform agenda.

In recent months, Maharaj has created uproar by describing Mahatma Gandhi's Hindu nationalist assassin as a patriot, saying Hindu women should give birth to four children to ensure the religion survives and by calling for Hindus who convert to Islam and Christianity to be given the death penalty.

For the first time since the election last year, some lawmakers in Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are rebelling against his focus on mending the economy and governance at the expense of promoting Hinduism.

Here is the original post:
Insight: Hardline Hindus become Modi's enemies from within