Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya has again been controversial over his Hindu Dharma comment.
Maurya terms Hindu Dharma a ‘dhokha’
While addressing the Bahujan Samaj Rights Conference at Jantar Mantar, Maurya called the Hindu religion a deception on Monday (25 December). He said, “Hindu ek dhokha hai (Hindu religion is a kind of deception). RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said twice that there is no religion called Hinduism, but instead, it is a way of living. Prime Minister Modi has also said that there is no Hindu religion. Sentiments do not get hurt when these people make such statements, but if Swami Prasad Maurya says the same, it causes unrest.”
Following Maurya’s remarks, Akhilesh Yadav advised that there should be no comment on religion and caste. Addressing the representatives of Kannauj’s Prabuddha Samaj and Maha Brahmin Samaj Panchayat at the party’s state headquarters in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav advised that leaders should avoid commenting on religion and caste. Some party workers objected to Swami Prasad Maurya’s statements without taking his name. When the issue was raised in the Panchayat, Akhilesh agreed that this thing should be curbed at any cost. Earlier, several Brahmin leaders of the party had complained to Akhilesh over statements made by Maurya.
“In 1955, the Supreme Court asserted that Hinduism is not merely a religion but a way of life, encompassing more than 200 distinct religions. This sentiment has been echoed by Mohan Bhagwat, who stated on two occasions that Hinduism is a way of life and not a religion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed a similar view, as has Gadkari in a media conclave,” remarked Swami Prasad Maurya.
“Interestingly, when the Supreme Court made this declaration in 1955, there was no widespread objection. However, when I make the same assertion, FIRs are filed nationwide. I am simply reiterating what the Indian Constitution has already stated,” he added. The Samajwadi leader would do well to know that while many of the leaders mentioned above termed Hindu Dharma a way of life but not ‘fraud’/’deception.’
The Samajwadi Party leader alleged that the Hindu upper classes leverage the Bahujan vote bank to attain political power. However, once in power, they often revoke reservations for these groups. The Samajwadi Party MLC said those sitting at the top echelons of power are weakening democracy by doing away with reservations.
“The combined population of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas constitutes only 8% of the total population. This 8% alone cannot secure a government. They have exploited the backward classes, assuming the mantle of representing Hindus to gain votes. However, once in power, they distance themselves from this Hindu identity. If this were not the case, reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, or backward castes would not have been annulled,” Maurya commented.
“Those who express allegiance to the Constitution, including the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, those in positions of power, are prioritizing Manuvaad. The effectiveness of the Constitution is being undermined, with reservations being dismantled. Even the democratic fabric is being eroded, evidenced by the disqualification of nearly 150 MPs from Parliament. Isn’t this a concerted effort against democracy? Is the government not exerting undue influence on the people?” Maurya questioned.
Maurya is a serial offender
Samajwadi Party (SP) MLC Swami Prasad Maurya is a serial offender and repeatedly abuses Hindu Dharma. Maurya, who has been continuously attacking the Hindu religion with his blasphemous statements, has once again waded into the controversy.
In his post on X on Diwali, he raised questions about Goddess Lakshmi, after which netizens are fiercely trolling him.“Every child born in any religion, caste, race, colour and country of the whole world has two hands, two legs, two ears, two eyes, a nose with two holes, a head, stomach and back, but a child with four hands, eight hands, ten hands, twenty hands and a thousand hands have not been born till date, then how can Lakshmi be born with four hands?” he questioned.
He has termed those demanding Hindu Rashtra enemies of the nation and called Hindu Dharma a hoax. Earlier this year, he alleged that some verses of the Ramcharitmanas were an “insult” to a large section of society based on caste and demanded that these be “banned.” He was booked with ten others who burnt copies of the Hindu Grantha to ‘express solidarity’ with Maurya. ‘Discrimination against certain sections’ of society is used as a convenient excuse by politicians like Maurya to hide their Hindu hate.
This April, a video of Maurya came to the fore in which he was making an objectionable comment on Prabhu Sri Ram. In the video, Maurya can be heard saying — “Mile Mulayam Kanshi Ram…” and pauses for the crowd to complete the sentence saying “…Hawa main ud gaye Jai Shri Ram” — a contentious political slogan that was coined in the early 1990s.
This has become a toolkit of sorts where loose tongues like Maurya are allowed to comment on Hindu Granthas at will, and the party later washes its hands off, saying the comments are the ‘personal views’ of the leader in question.
(With IANS inputs)
