Amid 'Ramcharitmanas' row, VHP pitches for UCC at seers' meet

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 24 (ANI): Amid the controvesy over a remark made by a Bihar minister, claiming that the 'Ramcharitmanas', a peom based on the epic 'Ramayana' is divisive and spreads hatred in the society, seers from the Margdarshak Mandal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday met at Magh Mela Camp at Prayagraj and said they were 'hurt' by the statement agaunst the sacred Hindu text.
The seers also proposed to move and adopt a resolution registering their misgivings over the remark.
The resolution would be moved and adopted after further discussions on Wednesday, they said.
While the controversy around the remark against Ramcharitmanas figured prominently in the discourse at the seers' meet, they arrived at the consensus that implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would go a long way to stopping such 'attacks on Hindu society'.
VHP leader and Union Minister Ashok Tiwari, who was part of the deloberations on Tuesday, told ANI, "The need of the hour is for a Uniform Civil Code, which would send a strong message when it comes to such attacks on the Hindu community. There is an urgent need for a legislation that would ensure societal balance. At the meeting, Vaidehi Vallabha Devacharya called on seers to tribal and remote areas in an effort to bring back people who have drifted from the Hiindu religion and culture."
Addressing the students at the 15th convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University earlier this month, Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar claimed that 'Ramcharitmanas' and 'Manusmriti' as books that divide society.
"Why was the Manusmriti burnt? It is because it has insulting remarks against a large section of society. Why was Ramcharitmanas resisted? It is because it speaks against the right of the lower caste people to access education. It says lower caste people turn poisonous if they receive education, just as a snake becomes venomous after drinking milk," the minister said.
The remark stirred outrage among Hindu religious leaders and the BJP, which demanded his dismissal from the government.
Close on the heels of the Bihar minister's remark, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in 'Ramcharitmanas'.
Speaking to ANI, the SP leader said, "I don't have any issue with Ramcharitramanas but parts of it have insulting comments and sarcasm directed at particular castes and sects. Those should be removed."
Maurya further claimed that in the Ramcharitmanas, which was composed by Tulsidas, there are words hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community.
"The government should take effective action and show sensitivity. It should see that the sentiments of any community are not hurt," he added.
Maurya left the ruling BJP last year in January and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP), ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)