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Akhilesh says his party is not against Lord Ram or the Ramcharitmanas even as senior leaders of his party demand ban certain verses of the text.
Nearly a week after maintaining silence, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday strongly defended senior party leader Swami Prasad Maurya who demanded a ban on certain verses in the ‘Ramcharitmanas’ – a popular version of the Ramayana penned by Tulsidas – for allegedly “insulting” certain castes.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister has been facing protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and right-wing groups since Maurya demanded the removal of the passages on January 22.
“I respect all religions but disrespecting any religion or any individual cannot be allowed… I have only demanded that certain verses which are disrespectful towards women, tribals, Dalits and backward classes, should be removed,” Maurya, who served as a minister in the BJP government before his dramatic exit just before the Assembly elections last year.
Speaking to reporters in Mainpuri on Monday, Akhilesh said, “No one is against any religious text, no one is against Lord Ram or Ramcharitmanas. Since the chief minister is a yogi and comes from a religious background, I request him to read that chaupai (quadruplet). Can he recite it in the Assembly?”
The verse in question reads: “Dhol ganwar, sudra, pushu, naari; sakal taadna ke adhikari”.
Many groups of OBCs and SC communities have staged protests against the verse demanding its removal.
Referring to the word ‘sudra’, referring to people belonging to lower strata of the caste system, Akhilesh asked whether he is a sudra – a word considered derogatory – or not. “Let the CM read this chaupai (quadruplet).
The Samajwadi Party leader said that he was harassed by some people belonging to the BJP and its ideological parent the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while visiting a temple on Sunday.
Meanwhile, various controversial Hindu seers have jumped into the controversy, damning the leaders making comments against the Ramcharitmanas.
On Sunday, the head priest of Ayodhya’s Tapasvi Chhawni Temple, Mahant Paramhans Das reportedly announced a cash reward of ₹500 for whoever kills Maurya, who is currently a member of UP’s Legislative Council.
Mayawati, UP’s former CM and the boss of Maurya’s former party – the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP), said that the OBC leader’s comments against the religious text are aimed at benefitting the SP and the ruling BJP in elections.
In a series of tweets, the BSP president said that the SP is following the BJP’s design of creating new controversies for political gains.
“The BJP’s political identity of creating new controversies for narrow political and electoral interests, spreading ethnic and religious hatred, creating hysteria, and religious conversions etc are well known. But the same political colour of the SP, under the guise of the ‘Ramcharitmanas’, is sad and unfortunate,” Mayawati said.
