Temple or hospital?: Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar

Patna: As the day of Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha is approaching, Bihar Education Minister Chandra Shekhar has sparked off yet another controversy with his statements on Lord Ram and said that if the people fall sick or get injured they will seek medical attention rather than visiting a temple.

-"If you get injured, where will you go? Temple or hospital? If you want education and want to become an officer, MLA, or MP, will you go to a temple or school?" Shekhar told reporters on Sunday.

Chandra Shekhar also suggested the people be cautious of "pseudo-Hinduvaad and pseudo-nationalism."

Extending his support to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA, Fateh Bahadur Singh, he said that Singh said the same thing had been said by Savitribai Phule.

"Fateh Bahadur Singh (RJD MLA) said the same thing that had been said by Savitribai Phule. What is wrong here? He quoted Savitribai Phule. Isn't education necessary? We should be cautious of pseudo-Hinduvaad and pseudo-nationalism," he added.

Fateh Bahadur Singh put up posters that spoke disparagingly of temples while extolling the virtues of education.

Bihar Education Minister further claimed that the sites that have been allocated have been made into sites of exploitation.

"When Lord Ram resides in each one of us and everywhere, where will you go to look for him?... The sites that have been allocated have been made into sites of exploitation, used for filling the pockets of a few conspirators in society," he said.
The opposition party leaders are targeting the government and making indecent remarks about Ram Lalla.

On one hand, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad called Ramlala a non-vegetarian, on the other hand, Tejashwi Yadav also gave a controversial statement regarding Lord Ram.

Earlier, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said that if he gets sick, he should go to the temple or hospital.

"People will go to a hospital and not a temple if they fall sick or get injured. I am not against any religion. I visited Tirupati recently, where my daughter got tonsured. Even I offered my hair. My only concern is to stop the ongoing efforts to alter the fabric of this country," Yadav said while addressing a public meeting on January 4.

Nationalist Congress Party- Sharad Pawar faction leader Jitendra Awhad has sparked off a controversy with his statements on Lord Ram.

"Ram is ours. Ram belongs to the Bahujans. Ram who hunts and eats is ours, we belong to the Bahujans. 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," Awhad said while addressing an event in Maharashtra's Shirdi on January 3.

This is not the first time the Bihar Education Minister has sparked a controversy, earlier in September he stirred a controversy when he compared the holy Ramcharitmanas to "potassium cyanide".

Speaking at an event on Hindi Diwas (September 14), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said, "If you serve 56 kinds of dishes and mix potassium cyanide into them, would you eat them? The same analogy applies to the scriptures of Hinduism."

The remarks drew sharp criticism from several leaders.

Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple 'Pran Pratishtha' on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life. The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has decided to enthrone Ram Lalla at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple at noon on January 22.