Bihar minister takes aim at Ramcharitmanas again: It’s ‘potassium cyanide’

The minister made his latest remark at a function to mark Hindi Diwas in Patna on Thursday evening, a video clip of which has been circulating on the social media.

Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar, who had drawn all-round fire with his criticism of Ramcharitmanas earlier this year, has now likened the revered epic to “potassium cyanide”, which has predictably triggered an outcry once again among his party RJD’s allies and rivals alike.

Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar in Patna on Friday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The minister made his latest remark at a function to mark Hindi Diwas in Patna on Thursday evening, a video clip of which has been circulating on the social media. “There are many great things in scriptures... but if at a feast 56 dishes is served and one adds or sprinkles potassium cyanide in it, the food will be unfit for consumption,” he said, referring to Ramcharitmanas.

“It is not just my view. Even great Hindi writer Nagarjuna and socialist thinker Ram Manohar Lohia have said that Ramcharitmanas contains many regressive thoughts,” the video clip shows the minister as saying.

HT is unable to verify the authenticity of the video clip.

In the same speech, the RJD leader says that while his earlier remarks about “caste discriminatory reference in Ramcharitmanas” have evoked abuse and even threats of physical violence, nobody has any problems when similar concerns are expressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United, which shares power with the RJD in the state, was quick to disassociate itself from Chandra Shekhar’s remarks.

State JD-U spokesman Abhishek Jha said, “The Constitution says all faiths are to be accorded equal respect. Some people say things with no apparent purpose other than getting some limelight, which we disapprove of.”

State BJP president Samrat Choudhary asked the CM to immediately sack the minister. “This is a well-planned conspiracy of the INDIA bloc to insult Lord Rama and Ramcharitmanas,” he said.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra also reacted. “All the people in the INDIA bloc are full of venom for Hinduism, and it is reflected in their statements. He says Ramcharitmanas is potassium cyanide. Crores of people have their devotion attached to it. Those who have the audacity to call ‘Ram’ a venom are questioning the basic beliefs of this country and hurting them. The public will boycott them,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

The RJD leader also drew a rebuke from his own party, whose spokesman Shakti Yadav also issued a statement. “It is true that our party stands for social justice, but it also stands for respecting all religions. Any utterance which can hurt religious sentiments must be strictly avoided,” the statement said.