Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya ignited controversy with his Diwali social media post challenging the traditional depiction of Goddess Lakshmi. The post, questioning the goddess having four hands, drew criticism from various quarters, including his own party. Maurya took to the X social media platform and questioned how Lakshmi could have been born with four hands while urging people to accord greater respect to their wives.
दीपोत्सव के अवसर पर अपनी पत्नी का पूजा व सम्मान करते हुए कहा कि पूरे विश्व के प्रत्येक धर्म, जाति, नस्ल, रंग व देश में पैदा होने वाले बच्चे के दो हाथ, दो पैर, दो कान, दो आंख, दो छिद्रों वाली नाक के साथ एक सिर, पेट व पीठ ही होती है, चार हाथ,आठ हाथ, दस हाथ, बीस हाथ व हजार हाथ वाला… pic.twitter.com/CP5AjKODfq
— Swami Prasad Maurya (@SwamiPMaurya) November 12, 2023
— Swami Prasad Maurya (@SwamiPMaurya) In a post on X, Maurya questioned the portrayal of Goddess Lakshmi with four hands and said he worshipped his wife on Diwali as she is the Lakshmi of his house, and a homemaker in a true sense.
“… every child born in every religion, caste, race, colour, and country of the whole world has two hands, two legs, two ears, two eyes, and a nose with two holes. There is only a head, stomach, and back; if a child with four hands, eight hands, ten hands, twenty hands, and a thousand hands has not been born till date, then how can Lakshmi be born with four hands?” Maurya said in his post.
“If you want to worship Goddess Lakshmi, then worship and respect your wife who is a goddess in the true sense because she fulfills the responsibility of nurturing, happiness, prosperity, food, and care of your family with great devotion,” read his post.
Also Read:UP: Congress banners hail Rahul Gandhi as ‘2024 PM’, Samajwadi Party sees red
Samajwadi Party condemns Maurya
His remarks prompted swift backlash, with members of his own party condemning his views. Samajwadi Party spokesperson IP Singh urged Maurya to refrain from harming the party and asked him to “stop harming the party,” describing the remarks as his ‘personal views.’
“When you were a cabinet minister in BJP for 5 years, you were afraid of making indecent comments on Goddess Lakshmi ji and Lord Ganesha… Stop harming the party,” he wrote on X.
“Samajwadi Party respects all religions. Mainpuri’s MP sister @dimpleyadav ji has returned after visiting Baba Kedarnath ji on Nov 5. Samajwadi Party has full faith in Hindu religion,” Singh added.
Singh clarified the party’s respect for all religions, citing recent religious activities of party members. Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam accused Maurya of intentionally hurting sentiments and called for an apology.
Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnan on Monday said it seems Maurya has been making his comments as part of an agenda to hurt the sanatan dharma. “… he has been continuously giving statements that have hurt the sentiment of the Hindus. Seeing and hearing his statement, it seems that he is targeting Sanatan Dharm as part of some agenda,” Krishnam told PTI.
“… he should apologise for this. I urge Yogi Adityanath ji to impose a ban on statements of Swami Prasad Maurya and his speech. It seems that Swami Prasad Maurya has taken a ‘supari’ to finish off the SP,” he added.
BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also criticised Maurya’s remark in a post on X. “Hurts Hindu sentiments. He is determined to take down Akhilesh Yadav. This is a demon in a human body. Akhilesh Yadav is silent. Is all this happening only on his orders?” Maurya on Monday said this was not the first time he said such a thing and that he had said it Last Diwali too.
“I believe everyone has the freedom to celebrate festivals. I am of the view that in the true sense, the housewife is the Goddess Lakshmi of the house. Our culture also says where women are respected, there is happiness and prosperity, that home is a heaven, that is where great people reside,” Maurya told PTI.
“If the Lakshmi of the house is the housewife, then worship her, respect her, give her importance. This will increase the respect of women not only in India, but all over the world,” Maurya said.
Maurya issues clarification
Maurya later insisted he did not mean to hurt anyone with his remark and slammed those trying to link his remarks with religion. “I have only said what is practical, true, scientific, and eternal. I respect Sanatan. My remarks were not meant to hurt any religious sentiments. Instead, I only urged people to respect their wives more,” he said, reiterating that there was never a child born with four, eight or more hands.
Maurya, a prominent leader in Uttar Pradesh politics, switched allegiance from the BJP to the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. His past controversies include comments on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu temples.
(With Agencies Inputs)