Row over Maurya remark: Akhilesh breaks silence, says BJP considers dalits,backwards as ‘shudras’
“The BJP has a problem with us going to ‘their’ religious places and seeking blessings from sant-mahatamas (seers),” Akhilesh told newspersons in Lucknow on Saturday.
LUCKNOW Breaking his silence over senior party colleague and MLC Swami Prasad Maurya’s controversial and repeated statements on Ramcharitmanas, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav indicated solidarity with Maurya and made a fierce attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, saying: “The BJP considers us backwards and dalits as shudras (untouchables).”
Akhilesh Yadav’s statement to newspersons came hours after Swami Prasad Maurya called on him. Their meeting at the party office lasted a little over an hour. “The BJP has a problem with us going to ‘their’ religious places and seeking blessings from sant-mahatamas (seers),” Akhilesh said to the newspersons waiting outside the venue of a religious event he attended in the state capital. To a direct question on his stand on Swami Prasad Maurya, Akhilesh said: “I have asked him to take forward the work on the caste census”.
‘BJP sent goons to attack me’
“Today I attended the ‘108 kundiya yagya’ and sought blessings from Maharaj Dandi Swami Ramashreyji, Yogi Rakesh Nath Yagyadhakshyaji and Mritunjaya Bharavi ji of Madhya Pradesh’s Pitambari Peeth at the yagya held on the banks of Gomti river”.
“...But BJP men disturbed the religious ritual. Some BJP workers attempted to prevent me from going to the event. They even jostled with some disciples and people. Some BJP, RSS men are threatening the saints and organisers who had invited me,” said Akhilesh in a statement issued in the evening.
He further said that he had gone there out of devotion and reverence, so what problem did the BJP have with this? The BJP was responsible for anarchy at the venue of the event, he said.
“To prevent me from going to the yagya, the BJP sent some goons. They attacked us, while the administration withdrew security from the venue beforehand and the limited number of policemen on the spot chose to remain mute spectators. The BJP must remember that when time changes, they too will have this kind of treatment”, he said.
“...Now I understand why my NSG security cover was withdrawn, why my security was reduced and why my house (the CM residence), was washed with Gangajal when I vacated it. Because we mean nothing to the BJP,” he said.
Soon after the meeting with Akhilesh, Maurya said that he would write to the central government on the caste census.
Asked if Akhilesh stood by him regarding his statement on Ramcharitmanas, Maurya told the waiting newspersons: “Akhilesh ji is the national president of the party. He will make a statement at the appropriate time.”
He also said that a petition would be sent to the central government demanding a caste census. “To provide justice to the SC, ST and backward classes of this country, the party will demand a caste-based census. For this, we will write a letter to the Central government”, he said.
Maurya’s statements over the week
To note, last Sunday Swami Prasad Maurya demanded that the government ban Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidas or delete certain portions of it, saying that the Hindu text had painted a bad picture of the majority population of backwards and dalits. Maurya had said Tulsidas accorded low caste to ‘Shudras’. He had said: “Crores of people have either not read or do not read Ramcharitmanas. All this is rubbish. This was written by Tulsidas for his own happiness.”
Two days later, on Tuesday a Lucknow resident lodged an FIR against him for “hurting religious sentiments”. The FIR was lodged at the Hazratganj police station. He was booked under IPC sections 295-A, 298, 504, 505(2), and 153-A. Section 295-A deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs. Maurya responded by saying: “I will not withdraw my statements”.
The next day, Maurya--responding to demands of some BJP leaders and a section of leaders from the Samajwadi Party--said he would not apologise and reiterated his statements.
On Friday, referring to a Hindu Mahasabha leader’s Monday announcement of a monetary reward to cut off his (Maurya’s) tongue over the comments, Swami Prasad Maurya asked why such people were not seen as “terrorists and butchers”. He said: “If a person from any other religion had talked about beheading someone or chopping off someone’s tongue, he would have been branded as terrorists. If mahants are talking about beheading me and chopping off my tongue, are they not terrorists and butchers?”