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Day 1 of Navratri: U.P. CM, ministers visit temples; SP leader flags old demand
While CM Yogi Adityanath visited the temple of Goddess Pateshwari in Tulsipur, Balrampur and offered prayers, his various ministers visited temples and other districts
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his ministers visited various temples on the first of the nine-day Chaitra Navratri on Wednesday even as Samajwadi Party national general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya again targeted the BJP government and the RSS reiterating his views on the Hindu epic the Ramcharitmanas.
While the CM, who is also the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple, visited the temple of Goddess Pateshwari in Tulsipur, Balrampur, and offered prayers, minister for tourism and culture Jaiveer Singh visited the famous Kalibari and Chandrika Devi temples in Lucknow.
The Yogi 2.0 government has organised recitation of Durga Saptashati—the Hindu religious text depicting victory of Goddess Durga over demon Mahishasura—in all prominent temples across U.P. during the nine-day Chaitra Navratri.
“The department of culture has organised recital of Durga Saptashati and Akhand Ramayana Paath in all prominent temples of the state during Navratri. We have also provided a token money of ₹1 lakh to each district for the same but if some districts need more, the culture department will release additional funds. Maintaining our great cultural and religious legacy is the responsibility of all,” the minister said.
Deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak along with other ministers and leaders either prayed at home or visited temples. Ministers and BJP leaders would also be seen reciting the ‘Akhand Ramayana Paath’ (uninterrupted recitation of Ramayana verses) on Ram Navami on March 30.
The government’s decision to hold recitation of ‘Akhand Ramayana Paath’ is being viewed as a counter to SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s campaign to seek correction/repeal of some of the verses of the Hindu holy book Ramcharitmanas, which the opposition party leader claimed were “anti-women and anti-backward.”
While the culture minister Jaiveer Singh said he would urge all, including opposition Samajwadi Party leaders, to join them in reciting Ramayana and Durga Saptashati, the SP general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya hit back.
“The RSS has now remembered that Dalits should not be stopped from moving on horseback during their marriage procession. Then will they also demand ban on such Ramayana verses that show Dalits in poor light,” the SP leader tweeted.
The BJP has dismissed Swami Prasad’s campaign as “mischievous and misplaced”. “If one is seeking to ensure that Hindus remain united, the other is seeking to probe an opportunity to raise caste concerns,” said Irshad Ilmi, a political expert.
