Bihar Education Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Chandra Shekhar Yadav sparked controversy in the state by referring to ‘Prophet Muhammad’ as Maryada Purushottam. This statement by Chandrashekhar has drawn criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party with the opposition party calling it appeasement politics. The video of Chandra Shekhar Yadav’s controversial remarks surfaced on Saturday, 9th September 2023. The incident took place on Thursday, 7th September 2023. Generally, the word ‘Maryada Purushottam’ is used to refer to Lord Rama.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA and Education Minister Chandra Shekhar was speaking at an event organised on Janmashtami at Hilsa in Bihar’s Nalanda district. In his speech, he said, “When satanism increased in the world, faith was lost, dishonesty and satan took over, then in the region of Central Asia, the God created Maryada Purushottam Prophet, Muhammad Sahib. To bring faith, Islam came for the believers. Islam came against dishonesty and satanism. Even if the dishonest call themselves Muslims, then God does not allow it.”
"मोहम्मद साहब मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम थे"
— News24 (@news24tvchannel) September 9, 2023
◆ RJD के विधायक और बिहार के शिक्षा मंत्री प्रो. चंद्रशेखर का विवादित बयान
Chandrasekhar | #Chandrasekhar | #RJD pic.twitter.com/whSEMcKV10
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticised the statement made by the minister. Danish Iqbal, the media in charge of Bihar BJP, said that Chandrashekhar Yadav’s statement represents the epitome of appeasement. He said, “The education minister had earlier made a condemnable statement about a religious book. Now this statement is also going to divide society. This has been the tradition of RJD. This party has done politics of religion by dividing the society in a similar manner.”
Danish Iqbal also said, “The Education Minister has made such a statement to appease the vote bank of a religion. He should not make such statements. All religions give the message of peace. BJP respects all religions. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should take action against such an education minister.”
BJP spokesperson Arvind Singh said, “RJD does not belong to Hindus or Muslims. This party has become a slave of one family. These people sometimes talk about Hindus, sometimes Muslims, sometimes Ramayana and sometimes Muhammad. All they do is to get votes by making people fight on the basis of religion and caste. It is very condemnable.”
Previously, Chandra Shekhar Yadav made headlines for his statement on Ramcharitmanas. His remarks sparked strong criticism at the time. On 11th January 2023, Chandra Shekhar referred to a couplet of Ramcharitmanas and said that it is a book spreading hatred in society. The couplet was – अधम जाति में विद्या पाए, भयहु यथा अहि दूध पिलाए. He asserted that the term “Adham” in the couplet denoted those of lower status, which he connected to caste. He implied that the couplet suggested that individuals from lower castes, including Dalits, backward classes, and women, were not entitled to education.
He claimed that the verse in the Ramcharitmanas means ‘Lower caste people become poisonous after getting an 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 the snake feels happy after drinking milk, the speaker – who is referring to himself as Adham Jati – also feels happy after getting an education.
In another statement made on 28 February 2023, Chandra Shekhar Yadav said, “I stand by my old statement. Whatever garbage is there in Ramcharitmanas, should be cleaned. Till now, just a few couplets have been questioned. But there are dozens of couplets that need to be changed. I am not going to remain silent on Ramcharitmanas. There are many such couplets in this, which I will continue to question.”
