Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jitendra Ahwad’s remark that Hindu god Ram was a non-vegetarian has sparked a major political controversy, with ruling as well as opposition parties of Maharashtra condemning his statement.
The backlash, at a time when the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration is just weeks away, prompted Awhad to apologise for “hurting sentiments”. However, he insisted that he stands by his remark.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the NCP’s conclave at Shirdi, Awhad had said that Ram belonged to Bahujans and that he hunted and ate animals.
“Where will a person, who has stayed in the forest for 14 years, go to find food?” Awhad had said, after BJP MLA Ram Kadam wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking a ban on non-vegetarian food and liquor across Maharashtra on 22 January.
Following harsh reactions from the ruling as well as opposition parties — the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Congress — Awhad 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.
Also read: Modi’s spirituality, Ram temple — how BJP’s ‘Adhyatmik Aghadi’ is shaping Maharashtra campaign
Protests across Maharashtra
Members of the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP have protested against Awhad’s statement in different parts of Maharashtra.
Some blackened Awhad’s poster with cow dung at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), while workers at Nashik hit Awhad’s effigy with slippers. Outside Awhad’s Thane residence, members of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP attempted to hold a “maha aarti” before they were dispersed by the police.
BJP Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha told reporters in Mumbai that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis should take immediate action against Awhad. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP demanded that an FIR be lodged against Awhad.
BJP leader Kadam filed a complaint against Awhad at the Ghatkopar police station and also used the occasion to taunt the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) — an ally of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP — saying that had Sena founder Bal Thackeray been alive, Awhad’s comment would have been harshly condemned in Saamana, the party’s mouthpiece.
कल सुबह 9.30 बजे..
हम सभी भगवान राम के भक्त शरद पवार गुट के नेता #आव्हाड के विरोध मे FIr दर्ज करने पहुचेगे..
घाटकोपर चिराग नगर पोलीस स्टेशन जायेंगे.
आमदार राम कदम
भाजपा प्रवक्ता— Ram Kadam (@ramkadam) January 3, 2024
जर आज स्वर्गीय बाळासाहेब असते
… तर आजच्या सामना मधून प्रभू रामचंद्राना मांसाहारी बोलणाऱ्यांना कडक शब्दात सुनावले असते .
त्याच्यावर तुटून पडले असते.. खडा प्रहार केला असता
मात्र . आज काय स्तिथी आहे पहा
उबाटा ला प्रभू रामला कोणी काही म्हणो त्यांना काही पडले नाही..…
— Ram Kadam (@ramkadam) January 4, 2024
Party colleague Rohit Pawar, who is the grand nephew of Sharad Pawar, also indirectly criticised Awhad without naming him. In a statement on social media platform X Wednesday, Rohit Pawar said everybody should have the “sense to avoid speaking on topics related to God and finding themselves in the snare of rival parties”.
आज नको त्या विषयावर बोलून वाद ओढवून घेण्यापेक्षा राज्यातील वाढती बेरोजगारी, ढासळलेली कायदा व सुव्यवस्था, महिलांची सुरक्षितता, शेतमालाला भाव नसणं, महाराष्ट्रातील उद्योग गुजरातमध्ये पळवणं, जाती-जातींमध्ये निर्माण केला जाणारा तणाव या ज्वलंत विषयांवर बोलून सरकारला धारेवर धरण्याची…
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) January 3, 2024
Ambadas Danve, a leader from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), also condemned Awhad’s statement.
“His (Awhad’s) statement is his statement. Where have we supported it? We condemn the statement. Everyone should be careful while speaking about Prabhu Shri Ram. He is our country’s ideal,” Danve said.
He taunted the BJP, saying it should not teach his party about Hindutva when its own leaders had made statements supporting beef eating.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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