Patna: Former Chief Minister and national president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), Jitan Ram Manjhi is part of the NDA government led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and is now drawing flak from BJP leaders and religious gurus as well. Despite drawing brickbats, Manjhi stuck to his guns. When reporters asked him on Wednesday, he said, "Not 100 per cent, I am sticking 200 per cent to whatever I have said."
Earlier, Manjhi had reacted to the statement made by BJP minister Neeraj Kumar Singh, who recently said that epic Ramayan should be included in the school syllabus of Bihar on the lines of Madhya Pradesh. Most of the BJP leaders supported Neeraj's stand including Health Minister Mangal Pandey. However, Manjhi who begs to differ, stated that Ramayan was not a true story nor does he consider Lord Ram as a great historical person.
Reacting to Manjhi's statement, BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul said, "He is a respected leader and he should refrain from issuing such comments. He questioned the very existence of Lord Ram. I want to ask his parents why they named him Jitan Ram Manjhi, instead 'Jitan Rakhshas' (read demon) befits him. Lord Ram very much exists, that's why his parents named him Jitan Ram Manjhi. For the sake of a few votes and to turn secular, he has cast doubts on the faith of the Hindus."
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He further said, "Everyone knows what happened with the political parties like SP, BSP, and AAP. All these leaders are now going to Ayodhya to pay their respects to Lord Ram. Manjhi should learn a lesson from these leaders and should tender an apology for his statement."
BJP leader and road construction department minister Nitin Nabin too criticised Manjhi for his controversial remarks and alleged that Manjhi wants to take political mileage by raising irrelevant questions. Nitin Nabin said, "Those who are raising doubts about Lord Ram are doing it for political gains. I strongly condemn his statement. He should apologise immediately."
In fact, Manjhi's past is full of gaffes in which he had brought embarrassment to the party and the government as well. When 33 people had died in the stampede of Dussehra at the famous Gandhi Maidan, he had said that such things keep happening. While serving as CM, Manjhi had said that upper caste people are foreigners as they were Aryans. He had once openly supported Maoists and declared that he too was a Maoist. Manjhi had once said that doctors' hands should be chopped off if they shun their duties. There was a time when Manjhi was considered an unguided missile in Bihar politics as he was clueless about his utterances.
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Coming back to Ram-row, Bihar BJP MP Ajay Nishad too slammed Manjhi and said that if he would have given such a statement before the Bihar assembly poll, he could not have won a single seat and demanded unconditional apology.
He added, "It's very unfortunate that a leader of his stature has issued this statement. If we as Hindus do not respect our gods and religion who else will do so. If he is an atheist, he should keep his thoughts for himself. He would have lost all the four seats if he made such a statements before elections. Just to be in limelight he has issued such statement now,"
Meanwhile, RJD MLA and spokesperson of the party, Bhai Birendra urged Manjhi to leave NDA so that he can express his opinions freely.
Summing up the debate, Patna-based political expert Dr Sanjay Kumar opined that it was not right on Manjhi's part to raise questions on someone's faith and religion and urged Manjhi to avoid such unsavory statements.
"How can Manjhi term someone's faith and religion fictional. People adore Lord Ram for his righteous living and like to follow in his footsteps. Lord Ram was very much part of our history and it was real story and not fiction. I must also say that Manjhi has an old habit of triggering controversies," Dr Sanjay Kumar asserted.
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