Texas Congressman wishes BAPS leader on birthday. Grateful for his friendship, he says

Earlier this year, Pete Sessions undertook a seven‑day visit to India that featured a tour of the BAPS Yogiji Maharaj Hospital in Shahibaug.

New Delhi: US Congressman Pete Sessions posted on X Thursday that he called Mahant Swami Maharaj, the leader of Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS, on his birthday. Sessions shared that he values the spiritual leader’s wisdom.

Swami Maharaj celebrated his 93rd birthday on 13 September.

“I was honored to speak with Mahant Swami Maharaj yesterday to wish him a very happy 93rd birthday. Over the years, I have been grateful for his friendship and deeply value his wisdom and service to others. May our friendship continue for many years to come,” Sessions wrote on X.

Sessions is the representative of Texas’s 17th Congressional District and a member of the Republican Party. He recently denounced racist posts by fellow Republican Bo French, in which he targeted Indian-origin students at the University of Texas. French is a nominee for the Texas Railroad Commissioner. Appearing on CNN, Sessions called the posts inappropriate.

“Mistakes can be made, but this is something I would not condone at all,” Sessions said.

Earlier this year, he undertook a seven‑day visit to India that featured a tour of the BAPS Yogiji Maharaj Hospital in Shahibaug. His photo with Swami Maharaj, posted on X Thursday, seems to have been taken around this time.

BAPS was the centre of controversy in France last week, when the sect allegedly asked the Eiffel Tower administration that women staff members not be visible during the visit of 100 monks on 5 September. Employees went on strike against the move the following Monday, leading to many in France and India criticising the sect.

“The BAPS, a fundamentalist Hindu religious order close to the Indian prime minister, has secured the exclusion of women during the visit of its monks to the Eiffel Tower. The government agency Atout France is attempting to conceal its support for this visit,” journalist Edwy Plenel posted on X Monday.