A new controversy has erupted over newly appointed cabinet minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s statement on Lord Ram. Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Leader and Cabinet Minister in Delhi Government Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj criticized the BJP for appointing Jitan Ram Manjhi as a cabinet minister, despite Jitan Ram Manjhi’s controversial statement that Ravana is better than Lord Rama. The Senior AAP Leader questioned whether the BJP now considers Lord Rama and the Ramayana imaginary and asserted the BJP had compromised its religious beliefs for political power. He urged the BJP to clarify its stance on Manjhi’s remarks.
Senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj said that yesterday BJP formed its government in the country for the third time and it is a matter of great surprise that BJP which asked for votes in the name of Lord Shri Rama made a person a minister in its cabinet who believes that Lord Rama is just a figment of imagination and Lord Ram’s Ramayana is fictitious. This Cabinet Minister of BJP has not only called Shri Rama and Ramayana fiction but also said that Ravana is better than Lord Rama.
“This has not been said by any common individual but by Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is a minister in the cabinet of the central government. The surprising thing is that the person who calls Lord Rama imaginary and says that Ravana is better than Lord Rama has been given a ministerial position in the cabinet of the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the Senior AAP Leader added.
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj further asked some questions from the BJP. “Does BJP consider Lord Rama to be fictional, Does BJP consider Ramayana to be fictional? Does the BJP now believe that Ravana was better than Lord Ram? And does the BJP agree with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s statement?” He asked.
The Senior AAP Leader mentioned, “I have asked this question because now a doubt arises in the mind, first of all, the BJP which asked for votes in the name of Lord Rama, made a person a cabinet minister in its government who considers Lord Rama and Ramayana to be imaginary and at the same time considers Ravana to be better than Lord Rama and secondly, when the election results were announced and PM Modi reached the BJP national office to address the BJP workers, then all the BJP leaders and workers present in the BJP office were shouting slogans, ‘Jai Shri Ram to Modi Ji’. But PM Narendra Modi did not answer people’s Jai Shri Ram with Jai Shri Ram, instead, he said ‘Jai Jagannath’ in answer to his workers and leaders’ Jai Shri Ram.
“There is nothing wrong in ‘Jai Jagannath’. But in a single day, the slogan of BJP changed from ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Jai Jagannath’ and giving a place in the cabinet to a person who does not believe in the existence of Lord Rama, raises doubt in the mind. The BJP should tell whether it agrees with the statement of its cabinet minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Does the BJP also believe now that Lord Rama and Ramayana are just a fantasy?” Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded.
