A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader on Monday offered Rs 11 lakhs as a reward for cutting off the tongue of former Bihar chief minister and founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi.
At a function of the ‘Bhuiyan-Musahar’ community, the most backward among Dalits, on Saturday night, Manjhi blurted out an expletive against Brahmins. Manjhi was supposedly trying to take to task Dalits for following the practices of upper-caste Hindus by whom, he claimed, they are still looked down upon. However, in the process, he used a derogatory term against Brahmins.
General secretary of the International Hindu Maha Sabha and executive member of the Bihar BJP, Gajendra Jha, claimed that if a son of a Brahmin cuts off the tongue of Jitan Ram Manjhi and brings it before him, he would be rewarded Rs 11 lakh. Additionally, he claimed he would bear his entire life’s expenses.
“We initially believed that Jitan Ram Manjhi is a mentally ill person. He has lost his consciousness. But he is repeatedly making derogatory and abusive statements against Brahmins, which cannot be tolerated,” Jha said.
“He neither has the dignity nor does he believe in Hinduism. In a bid to save the Hindu religion, I am ready to die,” Jha said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur, meanwhile, suggested that the state government of Bihar should offer Manjhi admission to a short-term course in Indian traditions and Hindu religion.
In response to Jha’s comments, HAM national spokesperson Danish Rizwan said, “Who has the guts to cut off the tongue of Manjhi Ji? The BJP leadership should take control its leaders or be ready to face the consequences. Manjhi Ji has already apologised for his remark. Why are these leaders creating such hype over the issue.”
During a public gathering in Patna on December 18, Jitan Ram Manjhi had said: “When I was young, the prevalence of Satyanarayan Puja was not very popular in our community (Mushar). These days, the prevalence of Satyanarayan Puja is taking place in almost every house. More alarmingly, the Brahmin (Pundits) come to our house, conduct Puja but they do not eat food in our houses. They shamelessly demand money (Dakshina) from us instead of eating food in our houses.”
“Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar was a Hindu but he changed his religion to Buddhist before his death. He said that the Hindu community is the worst community and hence he had changed the religion. When he died, he was Buddhist,” Manjhi had added.
Manjhi later clarified his statement. He further claimed to have used abusive language for his own community, not for Brahmins. “Still, if anyone is hurt with my statement I would take back my words,” Manjhi said.
