Ayodhya Priest Slams NCP Leader's 'Lord Ram Was Non-Vegetarian, Used To Hunt And Eat' Comment

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das has come down heavily on NCP Sharad Pawar faction leader Jitendra Awhad's statement that Lord Ram was a "non-vegetarian".

Speaking to ANI, Acharya Satyendra Das said, "What NCP leader Jitendra Awhad is speaking is completely false. It isn't written anywhere in our scriptures that Lord Ram had non-vegetarian food during his exile. It's written that he used to have fruits...Such a liar has no right to insult our Lord Ram...Our God was always vegetarian...He is speaking demeaning words to insult our Lord Ram..."

The NCP-Sharad Pawar faction leader triggered a controversy on Wednesday after claiming that "Lord Ram was not a vegetarian, he was a non-vegetarian." He made those remarks at an event in Shirdi.

"We don't read history and forget everything in politics. Ram is ours. Of us Bahujans. Who used to hunt to eat... Lord Ram was not a vegetarian, he was a non-vegetarian. Where would a person living in the forest for 14 years go to find vegetarian food? Is it correct or not," he asked.

The controversy erupted when BJP MLA Ram Kadam called on Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to designate January 22, the day of the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya, as a dry day, with a prohibition on non-vegetarian food. The BJP criticized Awhad, alleging that he showed disrespect to the sentiments of millions of Lord Ram's devotees.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Ram Kadam has decided to file a police complaint against Dr Jitendra Awhad for his statement about Lord Ram. He said, "Their mindset is to hurt the sentiments of the Ram bhakts. They can't make fun of the Hindu religion to gather votes. The fact that Ram mandir has been built has not gown down well with the 'ghamandi' alliance."

The stage is set for the consecration of Ram Lalla in the newly built temple in Ayodhya.