E-Paper
SP Maurya’s remarks on Goddess Lakshmi draw political outrage
SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya's social media post on Goddess Lakshmi has sparked outrage, with BJP and Congress both seeking action against him. BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary questioned SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's silence, suggesting it may be a deliberate insult to Hindu gods. Congress leader Pramod Krishnam also called for action, while some BJP leaders blamed Yadav for Maurya's statement. Former VP Hamid Ansari's wife, Salma Ansari, however, supported Maurya's views on respecting women.
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s provocative social media post on Goddess Lakshmi has sparked political outrage across the state with the Congress also on the same page as the BJP in seeking action against the SP leader.
State BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary was quick to target SP leader and wondered if SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s silence at Maurya’s comment was over any plan to insult Hindu gods. Swami in his post had made objectionable references to Goddess’s physical attributes and wondered how anyone could have so many hands?
“Akhilesh ji remained silent over the insult to Ramayana and now another silence over Goddess Lakshmi’s insult would appear that the SP is deliberately using Maurya to insult Sanatani culture. If that be so, Akhilesh ji’s attempts to portray himself as a Hindu and announcement of a statue for Lord Vishnu and Lord Parshuram would all appear to be a farce. It would then appear that all attempt is to settle for appeasement politics,” Chaudhary said.
“Swami Prasad suffers from mental bankruptcy but unless proven otherwise, it would appear that he is reflecting the party leadership’s mind and thinking on the issue,” Chaudhary said while appealing to Yadav to check the insult of Hindu gods by his party leaders.
Congress leader Pramod Krishnam was among the first few leaders to seek action against Maurya. “He has lost his mind and should be banned from making such statements,” he said. Some other Congress leaders also targeted Maurya even as the BJP took potshots at the opposition alliance of which both the Congress and the SP are a part.
“This alliance is going nowhere. It is bound to crash,” said deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and blamed SP chief for Swami’s statement. U.P.’s fisheries minister Sanjay Nishad, the head of the Nishad party, described Swami Prasad as a leader who had “lost his mind.” BJP’s other ally Om Prakash Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, also targeted Swami Prasad.
Interestingly, Swami Prasad found some support as former vice president Hamid Ansari’s wife Salma Ansari said she backed the statement Swami Prasad made on women. Salma’s defence of Swami Prasad in Aligarh was over the latter part of SP leader’s statement in which he had spoken of the need to worship one’s wife.
“If you want to worship Goddess Lakshmi, then one should respect worship and respect your wife who is a goddess in true sense because she fulfils the responsibility of nurturing, happiness, prosperity, food and care of your family with great devotion,” the SP leader had said while sharing pictures of him with his wife.
“We as a society need to respect women. There is nothing wrong in what Swami ji said because it is important to respect women,” she said.
