‘Ramcharitmanas Spreads Hatred,’ Bihar Minister’s Statement Sparks Controversy

Patna: Bihar politics again caught the limelight with the war of words over religious sentiments. This came after Bihar Education Minister Chandrashekhar offensively claimed that the Hindu religious book, Ramcharitmanas spreads hatred in society.

While addressing the 15th convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University, the RJD leader said, “Ramcharitmanas was opposed because it said that the lower section of society becomes poisonous if they get educated. Books like Ramcharitmanas, Manusmriti and MS Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts created a social divide.”

“A nation becomes great with love and affection. Books like Ramcharitmanas, Manusmriti and Bunch of Thoughts sowed the seeds of hatred and social divide. This is the reason why people burnt Manusmriti and took exception to a portion of Ramcharitmanas, which talks against education for Dalits, backwards and women,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded to the minister’s controversial remark sharply and the national spokesperson of the party, Shehzad Poonawalla, said, “This is not Sanyog but Votebank ka Udyog.” (sic)

A few days ago, Bihar RJD president Jagadanand Singh sparked a controversy when he said that Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is being built on ‘nafrat ki zameen’.