The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday demanded the Chief Election Commission of Indi (CEC) to ‘de-recognise’ the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) over recent comments made by leaders of these political parties on Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas. VHP president Alok Kumar has sought an appointment with CEC Rajiv Kumar to put forward his request to cancel the registration of SP and RJD.
“The VHP wishes to draw the attention of the CEC to Section 29A- of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which requires that the memorandum of each registered political party to have a specific provision that the party shall bear true faith and allegiance including to the principles of secularism and democracy,” the right-wing organisation said in a statement.
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The VHP is referring to the controversy that sparked after Bihar minister from RJD Chandrashekhar said that Ramcharitmanas “spreads hatred in society” and aligned the book with Manusmriti and MS Golwakar’s Bunch of Thoughts. Furthermore, SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya echoed the Bihar minister’s statement and said the book spread hatred and that certain verses in it are “casteist and derogatory” to the backward community and Dalits.
“Religion is meant for the welfare of humanity and for strengthening it. If there is any insult to a section of society due to certain lines in the Ramcharitamanas on the basis of ‘jaati’, ‘varn’ and ‘varg’, then it is certainly not ‘dharma’, it is ‘adharma’. There are certain lines in which names of castes such as ‘teli’ and ‘kumhaar’ are mentioned,” he told while speaking to a news channel.
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The VHP statement claimed that Maurya was made the party’s general secretary following his remarks, proving that the whole party’s support. It further noted that Chandrashekhar’s comment agaisnt Ramcharitmanas and other holly books is seen as causing “outrage and an attempt to create mistrust and division between different sections of Hindu society”.
In a video statement, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain also criticised both the political parties.
“These parties shouldn’t be given the opportunity to contest elections after creating animosity in the society and making use of political favours from it,” Jain said.
