Any submissions made by representatives of self-styled godman and rape-accused Nithyananda and his "United States of Kailasa (USK)" are "irrelevant" and will not be considered in the final outcome drafts, the United Nations human rights office said on Thursday.
Representatives of Nithyananda’s “country” participated in two of its public meetings, registration to which was open to everyone, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. They were prevented from distributing promotional material at the events and their "tangential" speech was not taken into consideration, the UN body said.
"Registration for such public events is open to NGOs and the general public. Anyone can submit information to the treaty bodies, who will use their judgment to determine the credibility of the submissions received," the OHCHR spokesperson said when asked about their participation.
"On 24 February, at CESCR’s general discussion, when the floor was opened to the public, a USK representative spoke briefly. As the focus of the statement was tangential to the topic at hand, it will not be taken into consideration by the Committee in the formulation of the General Comment," the spokesperson added.
Former Indian diplomat Preeti Saran was also present at the UN meet on February 24.
A woman who called herself Vijayapriya Nithyananda represented “Kailasa” as its “permanent ambassador” at a meeting of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva last week. She has a large tattoo of fugitive Nithyananda on her right arm.
Alleging that Nithyananda is being “persecuted”, she said, “Kailasa is the first sovereign state for Hindus, established by the supreme pontiff of Hinduism, Nithyanand Paramashivam, who is reviving the enlightened Hindu civilisation and its 10,000 indigenous traditions of Hinduism, including the Adi Shaivite indigenous agricultural tribes for which the supreme pontiff of Hinduism is the leader as well.”
After the woman spoke, a male representative of “Kailasa”, who identified himself as EN Kumar, spoke at the United Nations meeting.
The woman on Thursday issued a clarification saying that when she used the term “persecuted”, she was referring to persecution by “certain anti-Hindu elements”.
Kailasa, reportedly located off the coast of Ecuador, has its own passport, flag and even a "Reserve Bank of Kailasa". In December 2020, Nithyananda had even announced flights to his so-called nation.
On the Kailasa website, it is described as "the greatest Hindu nation" on Earth, a "nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus who lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries".
Nithyananda is the main accused in several cases in India, including rape, torture, kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He is also being reportedly investigated by French authorities for an alleged fraud of $400,000.
Nithyananda fled from India in 2019.
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