Sanatan Dharma a ‘perverted ideology', has ruined India: Maharashtra MLA Jitendra Awhad
Awhad made the remarks in response to a special court in Mumbai acquitting Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and five others on Thursday in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The blast has been referred to as an incident of ' saffron terror '.
'Sanatan Dharma has ruined India,' ANI quoted Awhad as telling reporters on Saturday. 'There was never any religion called Sanatan Dharma. We are followers of Hindu Dharma. It was this so-called Sanatan Dharma that denied our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj his coronation. This Sanatan Dharma defamed our Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.'
He added that the 'followers of this Sanatan Dharma tried to assassinate' anti-caste activist Jyotirao Phule.
'They threw cow dung and filth at [anti-caste activist] Savitribai Phule,' Awhad said. 'This very Sanatan Dharma conspired to kill Shahu Maharaj. It did not even allow Dr BR Ambedkar to drink water or attend school.'
The MLA said that it was Ambedkar who rose against Sanatan Dharma, burned the Manusmriti and rejected its oppressive traditions. '…One must not be afraid to say openly that Sanatan Dharma and its Sanatani ideology are perverted,' he added.
The Manusmriti is a Hindu scripture authored by a medieval ascetic named Manu. It has been widely criticised for its gender and caste-based provisions.
Responding to Awhad's statements, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sambit Patra on Sunday said that the NCP-SP legislator had used derogatory language for Sanatan Dharma.
'He [Awhad] said that Sanatan Dharma has destroyed India and that there was never a religion called Sanatan Dharma,' Patra told reporters. 'You have insulted the truth, spoken against [Hindu deity] Shiva, and opposed the beauty of India – an India whose beauty lies in its respect for all.'
The BJP leader added: 'Today, I want to ask respected [Nationalist Congress Party founder] Sharad Pawar Ji and his daughter [NCP-SP's] Supriya Sule, who is also a Member of Parliament: is this the official line of your party, or is this just Jitendra Awhad's personal opinion?'
2008 Malegaon blast
Six persons were killed and around 100 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in northern Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
Thakur and Purohit were arrested later that year. Five others – Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi – were also named accused in the case.
All seven of them were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code. The case was initially investigated by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad. It was transferred to the National Investigation Agency in 2011.
On Monday, a National Investigation Agency court, while acquitting all the accused persons, said that the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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