JDU vs RJD Over Bihar Education Minister's 'Ramcharitmanas-Potassium Cyanide' Remark

Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar Yadav created another stir with his remarks related to Ramcharitmanas after he compared the Hindu book to Potassium Cyanide. However, this time, the RJD leader is finding it difficult to get support from its ally JDU. The ruling party RJD and JDU are at loggerheads over the controversial statement. JDU has advised RJD leader and minister Chandrashekhar to keep his thoughts to himself. During a program on Hindi Diwas, Chandrashekhar Yadav compared Ramcharitmanas with potassium cyanide. Now CM Nitish Kumar's party Janata Dal United (JDU) has retaliated on the issue.

Responding to the Education Minister's statement, JDU spokesperson Abhishek Jha said that be it Ramcharitmanas, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran Sharif, Bible, all are matters of faith and one should respect all. Jha further said that those who see potassium cyanide in religious texts should keep their ideology to themselves. This cannot be the ideology of the party and 'INDIA' alliance. Jha said that INDIA alliance respects everyone, but many times it happens that some people impose their ideology on the group to get TRP from the media and to remain in the headlines which is not appropriate.

Addressing the students at the convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University in January 2023, the education minister had said, "In Manusmriti, abuses were made against the large section of the society comprising 85 percent of the population. It is written in Uttar Kand of Ramcharitmanas that people of lower caste become poisonous like snakes after receiving education. These are texts that sow hatred." He also said that Ramcharitmanas has Potassium Cyanide.

BJP leader Giriraj Singh also slammed the RJD saying that Lalu ji and Nitish Babu have gone on the path of Stalin and the INDIA alliance has taken the contract to destroy Sanatan Dharma. It may be recalled that last week, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin had compared Sanatan Dharma with many diseases and vowed to eradicate it.