Patna: At least three petitions were filed in various courts in Bihar on Friday against state education minister Chandrashekhar’s controversial remarks on Hindu epic poem Ramcharitmanas, even as the senior RJD leader said he stood by his statements.
Petitions were filed in Muzaffarpur, Kishanganj and Begusarai districts of Bihar accusing the minister of “hurting religious sentiments”.
In Muzaffarpur, a petition was filed before the Special MP/MLA court by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha, who invoked sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 296 (disturbing religious assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Chandrashekhar.
Praying for trial of the RJD leader, the petitioner alleged the minister’s remarks that “Ramcharitmanas should be burnt like Manusmriti because it promotes caste division in society” caused “deliberate insult to Hindu sentiments”.
The court fixed the next hearing date on January 25.
In Kishanganj, a similar petition against the minister was filed before the court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) by a member of right-wing organisation, Bajrang Dal. The petitioner, Ganesh Jha, demanded the minister’s dismissal from the government.
In Begusarai, lawyer Amrendra Kumar Amar filed a similar plea before the CJM court seeking “strict action” against the minister. “Chandrashekhar is targeting the Hindu community with the intent to divide using derogatory words for Ramcharitmanas,” the petitioner alleged.
On Wednesday, the minister stoked the controversy after he claimed that Ramcharitmanas, which is based on the Ramayana, “spreads hatred in the society”.
“Why was Manusmriti burnt, because many abuses were given in it against a large section. Why was Ramcharitmanas resisted and which part was resisted? Lower caste people were not allowed to access education and it is said in the Ramcharitmanas that lower caste people become poisonous by getting an education as a snake becomes after drinking milk,” he had said while addressing the students of Nalanda Open University.
On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Sinha had called for filing of a police complaint against the minister. Sinha, who is the leader of opposition in the state assembly, also asked Chandrasekhar to render an apology for his comment and demanded that RJD leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav should clear his stand on the issue.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar refused to comment on the issue, saying, “I don’t know anything about it.”
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