BJP MLA’S remarks on Lord Ram causes stir

MUMBAI: Jaykumar Gore, Bharatiya Janata Party’s MLA from Maan in Satara district, has kicked off a controversy through his remarks against Lord Ram. The legislator in his recent speech in his constituency said that Lord Rama’s “intention was bad” and he won the battle against Ravan because of the latter’s brother Bibhishana. However, within seconds, Gore corrected his remarks and said that he meant Ravan’s intention was bad. While the BJP said it was just a slip of tongue and the MLA himself corrected it immediately, the Congress pointed out that union minister Narayan Rane had made an issue of a slip of tongue by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray while delivering his speech on Independence Day.

Gore, who joined the BJP ahead of 2019-Assembly polls by defecting from Congress, was speaking in a public meeting on Tuesday. “After his defeat, Ravan asked Ram why did he face the defeat even after having mammoth force and everything in his favour? Rama said that he could win because Bibhishana was by his side. Ram had bad intention…” he said. When people from the gathering corrected him, he said, “I meant Ravan had bad intention.”

Gore had been facing political rivalry from his brother Shekhar in the constituency. The two brothers fought the polls against each other in 2019.

Gore linked the reference from Ramayana to his family clashes in his speech and said, “My brother did not stand by me, but my intention had no fault,” he said. The MLA is facing criminal cases, including allegations of sexual harassment.

“This indicates how the BJP’S intention about Ram is bad. We want to ask what action the party will take against Gore for his derogatory remarks against Lord Ram, who is worshipped by Hindus and in whose name the BJP has been doing its politics,” said Congress’s general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant.

BJP leader Ashish Shelar said, “It was a slip of tongue. He realised it immediately after speaking out in the flow of the speech. He has apologised for it and has corrected his statement. His statement is selectively made public on social media and the opposition is capitalising on it. The part of his apology has been deleted from the video which has gone viral.”

Sawant said, “Rane attacked chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for seeking information on the year of independence. It was not even a slip of tongue. Why is the BJP now justifying its MLA for his more serious mistake?”