Lord Hanuman was a Dalit, slave of 'Manuwadi' people: BJP MP

Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Bahraich Savitri Bai Phule has claimed that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit, but a slave of the 'Manuwadi' people. She said that rather than focusing on the construction of Ram Temple, the Central government should think about the Constitution of India and make all castes equal.

"Lord Hanuman was a Dalit and a slave of 'Manuwadi' people. If he were as a Dalit and a human, they why he was given a tail and his face was blackened. Why those who helped Lord Ram were made monkeys? Why Lord Ram did give him the look of money? He was made a monkey because he was a Dalit. Today also he is being dishonoured by getting called a Dalit. Dalits should also be kept as priests in temples since Lord Hanuman was a Dalit," Phule told media here.

Her statement comes after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister last week called Lord Hanuman a Dalit. During a poll rally in Malakheda of Rajasthan's Alwar district on Tuesday, Chief Minister Adityanath said: "Bajrang Bali was a tribal, a forest dweller, a Dalit and was deprived."

In reply to a question, Phule said, "They should love Dalits, Adivasis and poor more than Lord Hanuman. Have they ever hugged a Dalit? If they are going to eat food at a Dalit's, house then somebody else is making that food. Since elections are taking place in Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, they don't have any other topic. That is why they call Lord Hanuman a Dalit and call backward classes as Dalits just to seek votes from them. The country's Dalit and Adivasis have now understood their fraud. They have now started taking a stand for the security of the Constitution of India."

She added, "I think they start remembering Lord Hanuman whenever the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes ask for the implementation of Constitution in totality. Why didn't you think about Lord Ram during the last four years? Now when elections are a few months away, they have started thinking about Lord Ram and say that they will make Ram temple in Ayodhya. I want to say that if Lord Ram were really a God and had powers then the temple should have been constructed on its own."

"We don't want Ram temple in Ayodhya. They are just creating an issue out of Ram temple since elections are not far away. If crores of money were not spent on Kumbh Mela and Ram temple and given to the poor people in the country, then they would have also progressed. But they don't want to give money to the poor. They want to give it for the temple. They want to make the people as their slaves," Phule said.

It is worth mentioning that a legal notice has been served to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath by Rajasthan Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha president Suresh Mishra for calling Lord Hanuman a Dalit.