Delhi’s Jantar Mantar witnesses protests and demonstrations by the dozen every day, but one baba from Madhya Pradesh (MP) – Baba Ratan Lal Sahu Hindustani – stands out amongst the numerous protestors.

Sahu, who has been camping in Jantar Mantar since December last year, wants to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain to him the concept of what he calls Samrat Bharat Samrat Bharateshwar Dham – a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata, the personification of India as mother goddess.

Sahu wants PM Modi to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate the temple, when its construction is complete. He claims to have made more than 1000 calls to the Prime Minister’s Office. Besides, he wrote to him last year in March, requesting time for a private meeting. Sahu claims to have acquired land for the construction of the temple back in MP, and even furnished photocopies of documents to back up his claim.

He said it was in Modi’s destiny to become PM, and when the time is right, the PM would also fulfil his dharmic duty by inaugurating the temple. It would take just a meeting with him for Modi to realise his “true purpose”, the baba claims. Amongst his outlandish claims, one is that the PM is a reincarnation of an Indian freedom fighter that he refused to name. The baba also claims to have not washed himself since 1999, and that his body is not affected by either, the summer heat, the chill of the winter, or even the rain.

Surviving on food provided by gurudwaras and the kindness of strangers, the baba is determined not to return home without fulfilling his mission.