Raebareli: Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently sparked controversy for his comments on the Ramcharitmanas, has stirred up fresh row by allegedly making an "objectionable comment on Lord Ram" and hurting religious sentiments of Hindus during a public programme in Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh.
An FIR has been registered against the SP MLC for his objectionable comment. Notably, this is the fourth FIR lodged against Maurya this year. The SP leader made the objectionable comment on Monday during the unveiling of a statue of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. The event was also attended by party president Akhilesh Yadav.
The case has been registered with the Kotwali police of Raebareli in connection with a video that purportedly showed him making an "objectionable comment on Lord Ram" on Tuesday on a complaint lodged by an office bearer of the Hindu Yuva Vahini Marut Tripathi.
Circle Officer (City) Vandana Singh said that the FIR was lodged under Indian Penal Code Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
“Objectionable comment on Lord Ram”
In the video clip, which has gone viral on the internet, Maurya was heard raising the slogan-- "Mile Mulayam Kanshi Ram...Hawa main ud gaye Jai Shri Ram" -- a contentious political slogan that was coined in the early 1990s.
According to police, the complainant in the FIR has said the slogan has hurt the religious sentiments of the "Sanatani" society and will disturb the social harmony of society.
Maurya's former party colleague and BSP chief Mayawati reacted to the FIR, saying, "It has been the nature of SP to do politics of casteist hatred and baseless issues instead of development and public interest of UP."
“Will explore my legal options”
Maurya, however, said there was no reason for an FIR against him but "they" have lodged it still. "I will explore my legal options. I don't want to politicise the issue but the government is working with hostility nowadays," he alleged.
He said when he talked about the rights of women, backwards and Dalits, some people made derogatory remarks against him in the name of religion and even threatened him. “Some gave a 'supari' (ransom) for my murder while someone, waiving a sword, said ‘I will kill Swami Prasad Maurya' but no action has been taken against them till date".
'Ramcharitmanas' controversy
Earlier this year, Maurya, who is the prominent OBC leader of the state, sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana and demanded that these be "banned".
After which he was booked by the Lucknow police for his remarks on Ramcharitmanas. A week later, another FIR was lodged by PGI police of Lucknow against Maurya for burning copies of Ramcharitmanas in Vrindavan Yojana area of the state capital. Last month, Gwalior police of Madhya Pradesh had also booked the SP leader for his remarks on Ramcharitmanas.
Maurya, a minister in Yogi Adityanath's first tenure as chief minister, had switched to Samajwadi Party just before the 2022 assembly elections. Before that, he was in the BSP.
(With agencies input)
