'How Can Goddess Lakshmi Have 4 Hands?': Swami Prasad Maurya's Post Sparks Outrage, SP Leader Clarifies

Both Congress and BJP took issue with the remark. Maurya claimed in a post on X on Sunday that he honoured his wife on Diwali since she is a "Devi" in every aspect.

Swami Prasad Maurya, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, has questioned how Goddess Lakshmi can have four hands, sparking outrage and a censure from his own party, whose spokesperson has asked him to "stop harming" the SP, news agency PTI reported. Previously, the leader grabbed news for his divisive statements on Ramcharitmanas and the Badrinath temple. Both Congress and BJP took issue with the remark. Maurya claimed in a post on X on Sunday that he honoured his wife on Diwali since she is a "Devi" in every aspect.

"... every child born in every religion, caste, race, colour and country of the whole world has two hands, two legs, two ears, two eyes and a nose with two holes. There is only one head, stomach and back; if a child with four hands, eight hands, ten hands, twenty hands and a thousand hands has not been born till date, then how can Lakshmi be born with four hands?" Maurya said in a post on X.

"If you want to worship Goddess Lakshmi, then worship and respect your wife who is a goddess in true sense because she fulfils the responsibility of nurturing, happiness, prosperity, food and care of your family with great devotion," read his post.

With a clear distaste for what he stated, SP spokesperson IP Singh requested him to quit causing harm to the party.

He stated that the party does not agree with Maurya's statements, which he described as his "personal views."

"When you were a cabinet minister in BJP for 5 years, you were afraid of making indecent comments on Goddess Lakshmi ji and Lord Ganesha,” he said on X.

“Your daughter is an MP from Badaun, she calls herself Sanatani and never misses any puja. At least you could have explained (all this) to your son and daughter. Stop harming the party," he said.

Sanghamitra Maurya, Maurya's daughter, is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The Samajwadi Party respects all religions. Mainpuri's MP sister @dimpleyadav ji has returned after visiting Baba Kedarnath ji on Nov 5. Samajwadi Party has full faith in Hindu religion," Singh added.

On Monday, Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam said Maurya's words appear to be part of a plan to undermine sanatan dharma.

"... he has been continuously giving statements that have hurt the sentiment of the Hindus. Seeing and hearing his statement, it seems that he is targeting Sanatan Dharm as part of some agenda," Krishnam told PTI.

"... he should apologise for this. I urge Yogi Adityanath ji to impose a ban on statements of Swami Prasad Maurya and his speech. It seems that Swami Prasad Maurya has taken a 'supari' to finish off the SP," he added.

Taking to X, BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said: "Hurts Hindu sentiments. He is determined to take down Akhilesh Yadav. This is a demon in a human body. Akhilesh Yadav is silent. Is all this happening only on his orders?" On Monday, Maurya stated that this was not the first time he had spoken such a thing, and that he had also said it last Diwali.

"I believe everyone has the freedom to celebrate festivals. I am of the view that in true sense, the housewife is the Goddess Lakshmi of the house. Our culture also says where women are respected, there is happiness and prosperity, that home is a heaven, that is where great people reside," he told PTI.

"If the Lakshmi of the house is the housewife, then worship her, respect her, give her importance. This will increase the respect of women not only in India, but all over the world," he said.

Maurya stated that he had not intended to offend anyone with his statement.

On X, he said: "I have only done what is practical, true, scientific, and eternal. I respect Sanatan. And, I stand by what I wrote on X. I wrote it Thoughtfully."

Maurya, a famous OBC politician in Uttar Pradesh who resigned from the BJP soon before the 2022 Assembly elections, has previously sparked controversy by remarking on Ramcharitmanas and Hindu shrines.

The BJP regards "Brahmin religion," which is practised by just 10% of the population, as "Hindu religion," yet "Hindu religion" does not exist, he previously stated.

Earlier this year, the SP leader sparked another controversy by alleging that some lines of the Hindu classic Ramcharitmanas "insult" a big segment of society.

He also believed that Badrinath was a Buddhist monastery before becoming a Hindu pilgrimage place in the seventh century.