Ramcharitmanas Controversy Only Aimed at Benefitting BJP, SP, Tweets Mayawati

Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP president Mayawati has now reacted to the recent controversy over 'Ramcharitmanas' and stated that it is aimed at benefitting the ruling BJP and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. She also ridiculed the Samajwadi Party for taking no action against party leader Swami Prasad Maurya who had recently made objectionable remarks on the epic poem 'Ramcharitmanas' penned by great sage Goswami Tulsidas.

Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, kickstarted a controversy on January 22 when he alleged that certain verses in the 'Ramcharitmanas' - a popular version of the Ramayana penned by Tulsidas - "insult" a large section of society on the basis of caste as he demanded a ban on those passages in the text.

In a series of tweets, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said BJP's designs at creating new controversies for political gains is well known, but the Samajwadi Party (SP) is also doing the same.

"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.

 

1. संकीर्ण राजनीतिक व चुनावी स्वार्थ हेतु नए-नए विवाद खड़ा करके जातीय व धार्मिक द्वेष, उन्माद-उत्तेजना व नफरत फैलाना, बायकाट कल्चर, धर्मान्तरण को लेकर उग्रता आदि भाजपा की राजनीतिक पहचान सर्वविदित है किन्तु रामचरितमानस की आड़ में सपा का वही राजनीतिक रंग-रूप दुःखद व दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण। — Mayawati (@Mayawati) January 30, 2023

 

Questioning the silence of the SP leadership over Maurya's remarks, she said it indicates collusion between the SP and the BJP.

"Despite the controversy over the SP leader's remarks against the 'Ramcharitmanas' and then the BJP's reactions to it, the silence of the SP leadership has made it clear that there is a collusion between the two parties so that the upcoming elections can be polarised on Hindu-Muslim hysteria instead of burning public issues," Mayawati said.

 

2.रामचरितमानस के विरुद्ध सपा नेता की टिप्पणी पर उठे विवाद व फिर उसे लेकर भाजपा की प्रतिक्रियाओं के बावजूद सपा नेतृत्व की चुप्पी से स्पष्ट है कि इसमें दोनों पार्टियों की मिलीभगत है ताकि आगामी चुनावों को जनता के ज्वलन्त मुद्दों के बजाए हिन्दू-मुस्लिम उन्माद पर पोलाराइज किया जा सके। — Mayawati (@Mayawati) January 30, 2023

 

The BSP chief said both these parties had "communalised" the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and warned against such hateful politics. "The SP-BJP colluded in the last general assembly election in Uttar Pradesh and complemented each other by making it highly communal through religious frenzy due to which the BJP came to power here again. It is necessary to avoid falling prey to such hateful politics," she added.

 

3. उत्तर प्रदेश में विधानसभा के हुए पिछले आमचुनाव को भी सपा-भाजपा ने षडयंत्र के तहत मिलीभगत करके धार्मिक उन्माद के जरिए घोर साम्प्रदायिक बनाकर एक-दूसरे के पूरक के रूप में काम किया, जिससे ही भाजपा दोबारा से यहाँ सत्ता में आ गई। ऐसी घृणित राजनीति का शिकार होने से बचना जरूरी। — Mayawati (@Mayawati) January 30, 2023

Top seers from Ayodhya -  Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi temple and Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chhavni - have declared a bounty for anyone who beheads Maurya for insulting the Sanatan Dharma and asked the BJP government to take strict action against such leaders. 

Maurya, however, looks defiant and has said, "I will continue to oppose the conspiracies of insulting tribals, Dalits, backwards and women in the name of religion. The way an elephant is unperturbed by barking dogs and does not change its path, I too will not change my stance towards getting dignity for those (tribals, Dalits, backwards and women)."

Not only that, Swami Prasad Maurya also made a controversial statement against seers and saints, calling them monsters.

(With Agency Inputs)