Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has once again highlighted the Ramcharitmanas controversy arising out of the comments of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Minister Chandrashekhar.
Giving his views on the controversy, Manjhi said that it seems that Lord Rama was imaginary, while Ravana comes across as an intellectual.
Speaking to reporters, the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) chief said, “Whoever called Ravana a danav (demon), I believe Ravana was intellectual and Ram was imaginary. Ravana was more hardworking than Ram.” “
Manjhi also reportedly questioned the existence of Lord Rama, and termed the epic Ramayana as a work of fiction.
HAM is an ally in the Grand Alliance government in Bihar.
The controversy started last year (in January this year) when Chandrashekhar termed some phrases in Ramcharitmanas as “garbage”.
Manjhi’s statement came after BJP MLAs recited Hanuman Chalisa on the floor of the House during the ongoing budget session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Friday.
MLAs of the saffron party barged into the Well of the House and started chanting the Hanuman Chalisa, describing the state in “sankat” or trouble under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Manjhi said, “BJP MLAs should not recite Hanuman Chalisa in the Bihar Assembly.”
“Ramayana is written by both Tulsidas and Valmiki, why Tulsidas Das is worshiped and not Valmiki. Many Brahmin scholars have also written that Ram was imaginary, why is he not condemned and when a Dalit like me says so, people have problems with it.
He further said that the people of Manuwadi ideology have kept the supremacy of Tulsidas instead of Valmiki.
“There are many things in Ramayana which are not correct and even BR Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia had said that the objectionable portions should be removed from Ramayana written by Tulsidas. Instead of serving the people, today’s politics is based on religion.
The saffron party has reacted to these comments, with BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand saying, “It has become a fashion these days to abuse Hinduism, Hindu religious texts as well as Hindu Gods and Goddesses.”
Anand said, “The way RJD leader, Samajwadi Party leader and now Jitan Ram Manjhi are making statements against Hindu God is really condemnable, which is hurting the sentiments of common Hindu public.”
Speaking in a video, Anand said that these people “should better check their tongues”.
“If they make statements against Islam or any other religion, they will be awarded fatwas. They are doing it in the name of liberalism, progressivism and to express sentiment in favor of fools and appease Muslims and their vote bank. In the name of secularism, they should not do anything that would hurt the sentiments of Hindu people.
RJD leader and spokesperson Shakti Yadav, however, differed with her colleague’s statement and said: “Lord Ram is a symbol of faith. The constitution teaches us faith. Rama is everywhere and is present in all. One can debate the epics written by humans but cannot question the existence of Rama. Ram, Krishna and Shiva are the ideals of our rich culture. It is not right to question the existence of Ram.
JDU spokesperson Abhishek Jha also condemned Manjhi’s statement and said that recently it has been seen that a wrong message is given to the general public by making statements on the basis of religion and epics.
“Our priority is not religion. It is the BJP which does politics on the basis of religion and takes advantage of it. Our party is not concerned with such topics and statements. Our main focus is development and respect for all religions.” Jha said.
Manjhi’s controversial statements in the past
After becoming the leader of the state, Manjhi has been in limelight for his controversial statements in the past as well. Last year too, Manjhi had raised questions on the existence of Lord Ram.
In a program on Ambedkar Jayanti in Jamui district, he said that “Lord Ram was God, he was just a character in Tulsidas and Valmiki Ramayana. There are many good things written in Ramayana, so we believe it, but do not know Rama.” He also said that he worships nature and not idols and that he worshiped Mata Shabari.
According to Manjhi, in the name of liquor ban, most Dalit and backward caste people are being sent to jail and therefore he is demanding liquor ban in Bihar on the lines of Gujarat. He said that IAS-IPS in Bihar also drink alcohol, if you also want to drink alcohol at night, then drink it after 10:00 pm.
In a conference on 18 December 2021, he made controversial remarks on Pandits. He said, ‘Now in our village, Lord Satyanarayan is worshipped. You are very shameless, don’t you feel ashamed that… pundits come and say that we will not eat anything at your place, give everything in cash.
Manjhi had also made controversial remarks on three leaders. While giving a statement on Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan, he had said that whenever there is any kind of crisis in the country or Bihar, these three leaders go on honeymoon.
Manjhi also said that the upper caste people are foreigners and descendants of Aryans, they came here from abroad. He said that only Adivasis and Dalits are the original inhabitants of the country.
SP, RJD statement on Ramcharitmanas
Addressing the students at the 15th convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University on January 12, 2023, RJD Minister Chandrashekhar described Ramcharitmanas and Manusmriti as books that divide the society.
“Why was Manusmriti burnt? This is because it contains derogatory remarks against a large section of the society. Why was Ramcharitmanas opposed? This is because it is against the right of lower caste people to get education. It states that lower caste people become poisonous after getting education, just like a snake becomes poisonous after drinking milk.
Following the suit, Samajwadi Party leader and MLC Swami Prasad Maurya courted a major controversy after he demanded the removal of “derogatory comments and sarcasm” targeted at particular castes and sects in the Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana.
The SP leader had said, ‘I have no problem with Ramcharitmanas, but some parts of it contain derogatory comments and satire on particular castes and communities. They should be removed.
political influence
of cnn-news18 Political editor Mariya Shakeel sees this as a political opportunity that could lead to caste polarisation.
“Overall if we look at the politics of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, they are looking at more of a caste mobilisation, while the BJP is looking at a religious mobilisation. These states together send 120 MPs to the Lok Sabha and hence UP and Bihar have been very important in terms of political pivot, which is why the story of Lord Ram is coming out from these states,” she said.
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