Ramcharitmanas Row: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tries to douse fire by expelling two leaders, cautions spokespersons

After initial support to party leader Swami Prasad Maurya in the row over Ramcharit Manas, the Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav is now feeling the heat of this controversial issue. SP Chief has expelled two party leaders for making unwarranted remarks in the matter.

Besides he has cautioned the party spokespersons not to engage in debates focused on religious matters.

The SP Chief has expelled former national spokesperson of the party Richa Singh and Ex. Member of women commission in Uttar Pradesh Roli Tiwari Mishra from the party. Both these had taken Maurya to task over the Ramcharit Manas issue and demanded action against him.

Irked over her suspension, Richa Singh who has been former president of Allahabad University Student Union, said that she was not given any notice before such a drastic step. Roli Tiwari Mishra said now she would intensify her fight against those spitting venom against RamcharitManas.

Directives for SP spokesperson

Meanwhile, the SP Chief has issued directives for the party spokesperson asking them not to participate in any debate on religious issues. He said that the party should instead stick to the core issues of people’s problems and not on falsely created religious propaganda.

It may be mentioned SP leader Maurya made derogatory remarks on Ramcharit Manas terming it an orthodox literature which contains demeaning verses against Dalit and backwards.

FIRs against Swami Prasad Maurya

Irked over this remark, Hindu outfits had demanded action against Maurya and an FIR was lodged against him. However, undeterred by the controversy, SP Chief had appointed Maurya as the National General Secretary of the party. Going a step further, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav had stated that BJP treats him as Shudra.

According to a senior Samajwadi leader, the party Chief, who earlier sided with Swami Prasad Maurya, has now realized the harm it could make in the coming elections.

The popularity of Ramcharit Manas among masses and specially the backward castes could spell doom for the party in coming parliament elections of 2024. He said that raising this issue also hampers the party’s plan of launching a movement on the caste based census. `As it is, the ruling BJP has been mobilizing non-Yadav OBCs by saying that SP is a party of a particular backward caste and issues like this would only add fuel to the fire’, said he.