NEW DELHI:
Jitendra Awhad
, a leader from the Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar faction, has stirred
controversy
with his statements about Lord Ram. Awhad claimed that
Lord Ram
belonged to the 'Bahujans' and was a
non-vegetarian
, contrary to common belief.
This comes after BJP MLA Ram Kadam urged the Maharashtra government to impose a ban on alcohol and meat for one day on the
Ayodhya
consecration ceremony day on January 22.
Awhad later defended his remark on Lord Ram, saying that whatever he says is based on research. However, he added that if he has hurt someone's sentiments, he extends his apologies.
Addressing an event in Maharashtra's Shirdi, Awhad had earlier said, "Ram is ours. Ram belongs to the Bahujans. Ram who hunts and eats is ours, we belong to the Bahujans. When you people go to make us all vegetarian, we follow the ideals of Ram and today we eat mutton. This is the ideal of Ram. Ram was not a vegetarian, he was a non-vegetarian."
Awhad also questioned where a person living in the forest for 14 years would find vegetarian food, sparking a debate on the matter.
Continuing his controversial remarks, Awhad stated, "No matter what someone says, the truth is that we got independence only because of Gandhi and Nehru. Gandhiji was not assassinated in 1947, but the first attack on him took place in 1935, the second attack took place in 1938, the third attack took place in 1942."
He claimed that the attacks on Gandhi were due to casteism, as he was a tradesman and belonged to the Other Backward Class (OBC). Awhad criticised the lack of historical awareness among the public and stated that the real reason behind Gandhi's assassination was casteism.
In response to Awhad's remarks, BJP MLA Ram Kadam expressed his concerns about the neglect of genuine Hindu and Marathi issues. He mentioned that if late Balasaheb were alive today, the Saamna newspaper would have strongly criticized those who called Lord Ram a non-vegetarian.
Kadam accused politicians of engaging in cheap politics for votes and claimed that they only care about Hindutva during election time.
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