After RJD, an SP leader now criticizes Ramcharitmanas

Lucknow, Jan 23: Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya said that the humiliation of a caste, in the name of religion, should be objected to. In a controversial statement, the SP leader said there exist several crores of people who have not or do not read the relic Ramcharitmanas. He said it was the British era that gave Dalits the right to read and write and that women got their right to be literate under the British Raj.

 

 

 

Previously, Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar said that a Hindu religious book which is based on the Ramayana, 'spreads hatred in society'.

 

 

 

He went on to say that the Hindu relic was 'all nonsense'. Maurya urged the government to erase the objectionable part of Ramcharitmanas or should ban the entire book. According to him, the said religious text accords low caste to 'Shudras'. Also, he said that Tulsidas wrote the relic for his own happiness. In a conversation with Aaj Tak, Swami Prasad Maurya said, "Crores of people do not read Ramcharitmanas. All this is rubbish. This was written by Tulsidas for his own pleasure." "Whatever be the religion, we respect it. But in the name of religion, the work of humiliating a particular caste, a particular class has been done (in Ramcharitmanas), and we object to that. There are some parts in Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas that are objected to. No one has the right to abuse anyone in any religion. Tulsi Baba's Ramayana's cattle gave certificates to Shudras for being of low caste," Maurya said. "Taking cognizance of this, the government should remove the objectionable part from Ramcharitmanas or this entire book should be banned," he added. He praised social reforms during the British colony in India, saying, "Women got the right to read and write under British rule. Dalits got the right to read and write during the British era." He referred to the latest Oxfam report which showed that merely 5% of Indians own more than 60% of the country's wealth. In a veiled jibe at the Centre on the disparity in the Indian economy, Maurya said, "BJP is concerned about only about 5% of people, they are not worried about 95% of people being killed. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be the election of the BJP's farewell."

 

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The Samajwadi Party leader's remarks came amid the ongoing controversy over Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar's remark that "the epic Ramcharitmanas promoted social discrimination and spread hatred in society". Expressing strong objection to his remarks, the Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now in Opposition, has asked CM Nitish Kumar to immediately register an FIR against his Cabinet minister for creating differences in society.