'Totally false': Ram temple chief priest on Jitendra Awhad's remark

NCP leader Jitendra Awhad had earlier sparked controversy by stating that Lord Ram belonged to the 'Bahujans' and was a non-vegetarian

Reacting to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Sharad Pawar faction leader Jitendra Awhad's recent statements on Lord Ram, Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, said that it is "completely false."

Awhad had earlier sparked controversy by stating that Lord Ram, during his exile, was a non-vegetarian.

In opposition to these statements, Ram temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said, "What NCP leader Jitendra Awhad is speaking is completely false. It isn't written anywhere in our scriptures that Lord Ram had non-vegetarian food during his exile. It's written that he used to have fruits."

"Such a liar has no right to insult our Lord Ram. Our God was always vegetarian. He is speaking demeaning words to insult our Lord Ram," Acharya Satyendra Das added.

On Wednesday, Awhad claimed that Lord Ram belonged to the 'Bahujans' (people in majority) and was a non-vegetarian, contrary to common belief.

"Ram is ours. Ram belongs to the Bahujans. Ram who hunts and eats is ours, we belong to the Bahujans. When you people go to make us all vegetarian, we follow the ideals of Ram and today we eat mutton. This is the ideal of Ram," he said.

"Ram was not a vegetarian, he was a non-vegetarian," he added.

Case against Jitendra Awhad

Following Awhad's controversial statement, BJP MLA Ram Kadam filed a complaint against the NCP leader in Mumbai.

"Their mindset is to hurt the sentiments of the Ram bhakts. They can't make fun of the Hindu religion to gather votes. The fact that Ram mandir has been built has not grown well with the 'ghamandi' alliance," Ram Kadam said.

Jitendra Awhad apologises

Following harsh reactions from everyone, Awhad on Thursday addressed a press conference saying he did not wish to fan the angst anymore.

He said, "It is not my job to distort history. I said what I said yesterday in a stream of words. While speaking about Shri Ram, I said he was non-vegetarian. I don't want to fan this controversy. But, for the information of those who are criticising, there are six sections in the Valmiki Ramayan. In the Ayodhya section, in the 'sarg 52, shloka 102', there is a mention."

"But, I am not reading it out because I don't want to fuel this controversy. I don't make any statement without knowing about it. I apologise if my statement yesterday hurt anyone's sentiments," he added.