A day after Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar triggered a major controversy by saying that Ramcharitmanas should be burnt like Manusmriti because it promotes caste division in society, a complaint has been lodged against him. Advocate Vineet Jindal informed that he has requested the Delhi police to register an FIR against the minister and take strict legal action against him.
Vineet Jindal said that Dr Chandrashekhar made provocative, inflammatory, derogatory, and inciting statements with regard to the holy book of Ramcharitmanas, which has been read by Hindus with faith, with the sole motive to hurt Hindu Sentiments.
The complaint submitted with the DCP of Cyber Crime Unit of the Delhi Police states, “During his speech event, Chandrashekhar claimed that books like Manusmriti, Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas and Bunch of Thoughts by Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar worked towards keeping 85% of the population in the country backwards. He claimed that while Manusmriti abuses lower castes, Ramcharitmanas advocates keeping lower caste people illiterate. The Bihar education minister went on to say that Ramcharitmanas prevents Dalits, lower castes and women from getting education, and therefore it should be burnt.”
#BREAKING रामचरित्रमानस पर अपमानजनक टिप्पणी करने पर बिहार के शिक्षा मंत्री चंद्रशेखर के खिलाफ SC के वकील @vineetJindal19 ने दिल्ली पुलिस में दर्ज कराई शिकायत। दिल्ली के द्वारका DCP साइबर क्राइम यूनिट को भेजी शिकायत में IPC की धारा 151A,295,298 और 505 में FIR दर्ज करने की मांग। https://t.co/Q5YJbNOIAK pic.twitter.com/akB0ySKEM1
— Sumit Kumar (@SumitLegal) January 12, 2023
Advocate Vineet Jindal says that by these words against Ramcharitmanas a holy book for all Hindus, minister Chandrashekhar is targeting the Hindu community with the intent to divide and incite hated by using derogatory words for holy books. The contents of the statement made by him clealy show his intent of instigating enmity between two groups on the grounds of caste and he also made inciting statements against Hindu community, Jindal added.
The advocate said that being Hindu by religion, his religious sentiments are deeply hurt by statement given by Chandershaker. He has said in the complaint that the Bihar Education Minister has committed offences under sections 153A &8, 295,298 and 505 of IPC, which are cognizable offences and very serious in nature.
Attaching the links video and news report along with the complainant, Jindal requested the Delhi Police to lodge FIR against Chandrashekhar under the cited sections and take strict legal action.
Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar made the controversial comments during the 15th convocation ceremony of the Nalanda Open University in Patna. He claimed that the verse in the Ramcharitmanas ‘adham jati me vidya paye, bhayatu yatha dudh pilaye’ means ‘Lower caste people become poisonous after getting education like snake becomes after drinking milk’.
This is an often deliberately misinterpreted translation of the verse, because the word poisonous does not appear in the verse as claimed. It means that just like snake feels happy after drinking milk, the speaker – who is referring to himself as adham jati – also feels happy after getting education.
The Bihar education minister went on to say that Ramcharitmanas prevents Dalits, lower castes and women from getting education, and therefore it should be burnt. Dr Chandrashekhar further said that RSS is spreading hatred in the country.
After his speech, he reiterated his position while talking to reporters present there. He said that Manusmriti laid the seeds of hatred, after that Ramcharitmanas helped to grow it, and now Golwalkar’s book is expanding it.
He added that Ambedkar had burnt the Manusmriti, because it talks about depriving Dalits of rights. Similarly, Ramcharitmanas also has several such verses, he claimed.
Nitish Kumar distances himself
In the meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to distance himself from the matter when journalists asked him about his comments on it, claiming that he is not aware of the matter. “I don’t know what he said. I haven’t heard his statement or seen anything about it in the news,” the Bihar CM told reporters in Darbhanga on Thursday.
In the meanwhile, Chandrashekhar stuck to his position even on Thursday, claiming that BJP should apologise for ‘not knowing facts’.
