Lucknow, 16 Feb: Swami Prasad Maurya’s followers battled with Raju Das, priest of Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya, during a debate in a Lucknow hotel over the former’s views about Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas. Das had declared a reward of Rs 21 lakh for beheading Maurya, who sparked a row on January 22 when he claimed that Ramcharitamanas, authored by Tulsidas in the 17th century, advocated social inequality and hatred.
“Religion is intended to benefit and enhance humanity. If there is any disrespect to a section of society owing to specific lines in the Ramcharitamanas on the basis of ‘jaati’, ‘varn’ and ‘varg’, then it is surely not ‘dharma’, it is ‘adharma’.
“There are several paragraphs where caste names like ‘teli’ and ‘kumhaar’ are referenced,” the leader explained. Later, Maurya declared that the saints and religious leaders who had placed a bounty on his head should be referred to as terrorists and executioners. Both Maurya and Das were invited to participate on a news channel show. During the show, followers of Maurya and Das battled in the hotel.
The footage of the brawl quickly went popular on social media. According to Das, the event occurred when Maurya requested a ban on the Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas and criticised Sanatan Dharma. ?I will file a FIR against Maurya and his aides, who assaulted me as I was leaving the hotel after the show ended,? he claimed.
In a press statement, Maurya stated that he had filed a complaint with the police commissioner of Lucknow and requested more security. “I was invited as a guest in a show organised by an electronic channel,” Lucknow Maurya said in a letter to the police commissioner. Raju Das of Hanumangarhi, Ayodhya and Mahanth Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chavni, Ayodhya assaulted me with sword and axe while I was returning from the programme. My supporters shielded me from the assailants and led me to the van. He said that he had come home.
In a press statement, Maurya stated that he had filed a complaint with the police commissioner of Lucknow and requested more security. “I was invited as a guest in a show organised by an electronic channel,” Maurya said in a letter to the police commissioner Lucknow. Raju Das of Hanumangarhi, Ayodhya and Mahanth Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chavni, Ayodhya assaulted me with sword and axe while I was returning from the programme. My supporters shielded me from the assailants and led me to the van. He said that he had luckily arrived safely to his home.
