Sena slams BJP over Hanuman controversy

Mumbai: Continuing its tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena has now slammed its ally over the controversy surrounding Hanuman, saying that his only caste was his devotion, loyalty and sacrifice towards Lord Ram.

However, a new Ramayan is being written in Uttar Pradesh and caste labels are being put on the main characters of Ramayan, said Sena taking a jibe at the BJP.

The controversy over the caste of Hanuman has erupted after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditynath recently claimed that Hanuman was a ‘deprived Dalit,’ who lived in the mountains.

A few weeks later, former BJP parliamentarian Savitri Bai Phule said that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit and a slave of the manuwadi people.

Following this, Aacharya Nirbhay Sagar Maharaj, a Jain priest in Bhopal, claimed Lord Hanuman was a Jain. Bukkal Nawab, a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh, created another storm by claiming that Hanuman was actually a Muslim.

“While the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is yet to happen, these people are searching for the caste of Ram bhakts. This is like making fun of Hanuman, however the self-proclaimed Hindutva mascots are silent on this,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

“The only caste of Hanuman was devotion, loyalty and sacrifice towards Lord Ram and if somebody is trying to re-write Ramayan by associating his various castes, they need to be stopped. You have lost elections in three states. Is this not enough?” asked Sena.