“Cannot Make Fun of Hindu Religion for Votes”: Mahayuti Demands Awhad’s Remark About Lord Ram Be Filed as a FIR

Ahead of the January 22 opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a controversy has been triggered by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader of the Sharad Pawar group and former minister Jitendra Awhad’s statement that Lord Rama was not a vegetarian since he was a “Kshatriya.” The Mahayuti administration in Maharashtra, which is made up of the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, has insisted that Awhad be charged with offending people’s feelings.

Awhad had made the declaration in response to the BJP’s demand that January 22 be honored as both a “vegetarian day” and a “dry day.” “In politics, we forget everything and don’t study history. Our Ram used to hunt in order to get food. Ram did not grow up vegetarian. He didn’t eat vegetarianism. How can a guy who spent 14 years living in the bush continue to eat just vegetables? Awhad made a statement.

On Thursday, Ram Kadam, an MLA and BJP politician, filed a case against Awhad at the Ghatkopar municipal police station in Mumbai. Ram Kadam said, “Their mindset is to hurt the sentiments of Ram Bhakts,” while addressing the reporters outside the police station. They are not allowed to mock Hinduism in order to get support. The “ghamandi” coalition does not agree with the construction of Ram Mandir. Why, he questioned, is Uddhav Thackeray, an alliance partner of the NCP (the group led by Shiv Pawar), keeping quiet about Awhad’s statement? Does he endorse remarks of this nature?

Anand Paranjpe, the chairman of the NCP in Thane City, claimed to have gone to the Vartak Nagar Police Station and asked that Awhad be charged with “hurting” Hindus’ religious feelings with a “Zero FIR.” “Even though he had already given a statement in Shirdi, a “Zero FIR” may be filed anywhere and then sent to the Shirdi local police station. The police prevented four NCP party members, led by Ajit Pawar, from performing Lord Rama’s “Maha Aarti” outside his Thane City home today. Even more alarming was the fact that Awhad’s fans and workers used “Gomutra” (Cow Urine) to clean the area after the police arrested our party members. Is this not Awhad’s double standard? Despite his claims to be progressive, his party employees operate in the exact opposite way. Secularism is defined as respecting all faiths; yet, Awhad often made remarks that offended and wounded Hindu feelings. The “Maha Aarti” of Lord Rama will be performed outside the police station if Vartak Nagar police choose not to file a formal complaint against Awhad.

Leader of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) Krishna Hegde said that the leaders of the INDIA bloc and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are opposed to “Sanatan Dharma.” Awhad made a joke about Lord Rama without realizing that he had made a vow to his mother Kaushalya that he would only eat the fruits and berries found in the forest during his 14-year “exile.” Since it seems that Awhad has entirely forgotten the teachings of the Hindu faith, I suggest that he study the Ramayana, the Upanishad, and other works of Hindu literature.

Ayodhya Seer Paramhans Acharya, in response to Awhad’s comments, expressed disapproval to the media in Ayodhya, saying, “Jitendra Awhad’s statement is disrespectful and hurts the sentiment of Lord Rama devotees.” I urge Maharashtra and the federal government to impose severe penalties on anyone who disparage Lord Rama.