'What was the need of Pran Pratistha': Swami Prasad Maurya in UP Assembly

Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing drama and trying to project that there was no Ram Lalla before this govt

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Thursday questioned the 'Pran Pratishtha' or consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla while speaking in the Uttar Pradesh assembly. The Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.

"Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] is doing drama and trying to project that there was no Ram Lalla before this government. Ram Lalla has been worshipped for the last thousand years. What was the need for 'Pran Pratistha' then? It hurts the sentiments of crores of devotees. That ceremony wasn't cultural but a program of BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS], and Vishva Hindu Parishad [VHP]," said Maurya.

Reacting to Maurya's statement, Samajwadi Party leader Manoj Pandey said, "Whatever Swami Prasad is saying, I won't comment on that. The person who has lost his mental stability will keep speaking like this. The party has told him a few times now, but if a demented man isn't listening to the party's directions, no one can do anything."
 

Earlier, an FIR was also lodged against Maurya over his controversial remarks on Ramcharitmanas.

On January 22, while speaking to a news channel, Maurya said that Ramcharitamanas, written by Goswami Tulsidas in the 17th century, promoted social discrimination and spread hatred.

"Religion is meant for the welfare of humanity and for strengthening it. If there is any insult to a section of society due to certain lines in the Ramcharitamanas on the basis of jaati, varn and varg, then it is certainly not dharma, it is adharma", he said.

He added that Tulsidas wrote the book for his own pleasure while demanding a ban on the "objectionable portions" of the Ramcharitmanas.