Kasganj (UP): Several Hindu organizations are protesting against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya for making objectionable statements over 'Ramcharitmanas' penned by the great sage Goswami Tulsidas by alleging that certain portions of the epic poem insult a large section of society on the basis of caste and that it should be banned.
In this regard, Aryavart Nirman Sangh's national president Bhupesh Sharma and the National Spokesperson of the organization Umesh Pathak reached the Kasganj SP office on Monday and lodged an FIR against Swami Prasad Maurya. During the protest, they demanded to SP expel the leader from the party. The protestors raised slogans against the SP leader and burnt his effigy in the process.
Also read: Ramcharitmanas row: SP's Swami Prasad Maurya seeks deletion of 'casteist insults'
Speaking to the media, Sharma lashed out at the SP leader announcing a reward of Rs 5100 for anyone who hits Maurya with shoes five times. "A reward of Rs 5,100 will be given to anyone who hits Swami Prasad Maurya with shoes five times. He has insulted our religious book, and this will not be tolerated in any way." At the same time, a Hindu organization in Agra announced a reward of Rs 51,000 to anyone who cut Maurya's tongue.
In a controversial statement, the SP leader said there exist several crores of people who have not or do not read the relic Ramcharitmanas. He said it was the British era that gave Dalits the right to read and write and that women got their right to be literate under the British Raj. He went on to say that the Hindu relic was "all nonsense". Maurya urged the government to erase the objectionable part of Ramcharitmanas or should ban the entire book.
