PATNA: The ruling RJD in Bihar on Monday drew flak from allies and adversaries alike over a poster that spoke disparagingly of temples while extolling the virtues of education.
The poster was put up by RJD MLA Fateh Bahadur Singh close to one of the gates of 10, Circular Road, the government bungalow allotted to former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who shares her residence with husband and party president Lalu Prasad and son Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy CM.
Singh had called upon party workers to turn up for a function held at his assembly constituency Dehri later this week, to mark the birth anniversary of social reformer Savitribai Phule.
The poster also carried a saying of Phule, a rough translation of which equated temples with 'mental slavery' and 'superstitions and ignorance'.
The opposition BJP alleged that it was "yet another instance of insult to 'Sanatan Dharma' sensibilities by leaders of the INDIA coalition".
Former Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai, who is the Union Minister of State for Home, suspected that the poster was a "planned conspiracy" against the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya scheduled later this month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Similar sentiments were expressed by current state BJP president Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Giriraj Singh, the Lok Sabha MP from Begusarai.
The JD(U), which is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also seemed unhappy with the controversy.
"If the first-term RJD MLA is serious about taking a stand against temples and ritualism, let him stay away from all religious functions held by his supporters," said JD(U) MLC and chief spokesman Neeraj Kumar.
The slogan also appeared not to have gone down well with workers of the RJD, who raised slogans against the MLA when he arrived to greet the top party leadership on New Year.
"It is alright to stress the importance of education and a scientific temper. But, care should always be taken to say things in a manner that does not hurt religious sentiments," RJD leader Chandrashekhar, who is also the state's education minister, told reporters.
In the evening, RJD national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha held an impromptu press meeting to assert "ours is a party that keeps religious sentiment deep within the heart and does not wear it on the sleeve. The BJP has created an atmosphere in which even a poet like Kabir would have been declared a heretic".
"I wonder how many BJP leaders have even heard about Savitribai Phule and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and the contributions of the progressive couple. I also challenge leaders of the BJP to hold a 'shastrarth' (debate) on Hinduism with our party president, who is a deeply religious person," said Jha.
He sought to "bury this futile debate", which seems to have been "designed only to target" the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar, "just like the rumour-mongering we saw last week over internal happenings of the JD(U)".
The allusion was to the chief minister taking over as national president of the JD(U), replacing Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', amid speculations that the latter had made Kumar uncomfortable because of proximity towards Lalu Prasad.