BJP Maharashtra MLA Ram Kadam has officially lodged a complaint against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad following his controversial remarks about Lord Ram. Awhad, in statements made on Wednesday, asserted that Lord Ram belonged to the 'Bahujans' and claimed that he was a non-vegetarian.
Kadam expressed his dissatisfaction with Awhad's comments, stating, "Their mindset is to hurt the sentiments of the Ram bhakts. They can't make fun of the Hindu religion to gather votes. The fact that the Ram Mandir has been built has not gone down well with the 'ghamandi' alliance."
Awhad's remarks came on the heels of Ram Kadam's request to the Maharashtra government for a one-day ban on alcohol and meat on the Ayodhya consecration ceremony day on January 22. Awhad declared, "Ram is ours. Ram belongs to the Bahujans. Ram who hunts and eats is ours; we belong to the Bahujans." This statement was made during an event in Maharashtra's Shirdi on Wednesday. Awhad further added, "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."
These comments by the NCP leader elicited criticism from Hindu seers. Ayodhya Seer Paramhans Acharya told ANI "The statement given by Jitendra Awhad is contemptuous and hurts the sentiment of Lord Ram devotees... I would urge Maharashtra and the central government to take strict action against people who speak foul of Lord Ram... If strict actions are not taken against him, then I will kill Jitendra Awhad. I'm giving a warning." Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das refuted Awhad's claims, asserting, "What NCP leader Jitendra Awhad is speaking is completely false. It isn't written anywhere in our scriptures that Lord Ram had non-vegetarian food during his exile. It's written that he used to have fruits... Such a liar has no right to insult our Lord Ram... Our God was always vegetarian... He is speaking demeaning words to insult our Lord Ram."