Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has triggered a huge row with his controversial remarks over Hinduism.
"Hindu dharma ek dhokha hai (Hindu religion is a kind of deception)," Swami Prasad Maurya said adding that even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also said that Hinduism is not a religion, but just "a way of life".
"Even Mohan Bhagwat had said, not once but twice, that Hindu is not a religion but a way of life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said that Hindu is not a religion. Sentiments don't get hurt when these people make such statements but if Swami Prasad Maurya says it, the remarks cause unrest," he said.
Mr Maurya also cited a Supreme Court's ruling to justify his remarks. "In 1955, the Supreme Court said in its order that Hindu is not a religion but a way of life," Mr Maurya said.
This is not the first time when Swami Prasad Maurya, who had quit the BJP to join the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, has made anti-Hindu" remarks.
In August, he shared a video on X - earlier known as Twitter - saying that "Hinduism is just a hoax". "The roots of Brahminism are very deep and the reason for all the disparity is also Brahminism. There is no religion called Hindu, Hinduism is just a hoax," he was heard saying in the video.
The Samajwadi Party leader had in January this year said that certain verses of the Ramcharitmanas promoted social discrimination. "If there is any insult to a section of society due to certain lines in the Ramcharitmanas on the basis of 'jaati', 'varn' and 'varg', then it is certainly not 'dharma', it is 'adharma'," he had said.
Swami Prasad Maurya had also made controversial remarks against Goddess Lakshmi. "Every child born anywhere in the world has two hands, two legs, two ears, and two eyes and if a child with eight hands, and ten hands has not been born till now, how can Goddess Lakshmi be born with four hands," he had said.
His party has, however, once again distanced itself from his remarks. "By making such statements, these people are doing wrong for themselves," said Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had earlier said that his party never engages in politics of religion. "The stand of the Samajwadi Party on religion is clear. There should be no discussion about it," he had said.
