Samajwadi Party Leader Creates Row with Remarks on Ramcharitmanas

Lucknow, Jan 22 (IANS) Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has stoked a major row with his remarks over Ramcharitmanas.

Maurya said that certain portions of Ramcharitmanas insulted a particular class of people and should be changed. "I object to the insulting comments," he said.

He even quoted certain verses from the Ramcharitmanas saying that Tulsidas mentions certain castes, all of which belong to the Hindu religion.

"If all of those castes belong to Hinduism, then what's the meaning behind insulting one of their own?" he questioned.

Quoting another verse, Maurya said that Tulsidas also insulted the entire female community by mentioning them in the same sentence containing animals.

"Many people don't know this but when Tulsidas wrote Ramayan, he was against allowing education to women and the shudras," the Samajwadi Party leader said.

Reacting to Maurya's statements, Vinod Bansal, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist said that the Samajwadi Party leader should first visit an Ashram and understand the texts properly.

"He doesn't speak a word over the violence that is spreading in the name of 'Jihad' but he has made a habit of blabbering about Ramcharitmanas without understanding it. Nowadays, mudslinging on Hinduism has become a fashion. But the public is giving a befitting reply to people of such mentality," Bansal said.

BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi said that leaders of the opposition party are trying to divide India in the name of religion.

"We have come a long way but they will not let go of their divisive policies. The opposition leaders are trying to keep people away from other segments of society only to protect their own vote bank," he stated.