Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and MLA, Jitendra Awhad, has found himself in hot water as Pune city police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him for making alleged objectionable remarks about Lord Ram. The FIR, filed by Dhiraj Ghate, the president of the BJP’s Pune unit, accuses Awhad of hurting religious sentiments under section 295 (a) of the Indian Penal Code.
The controversy erupted after Awhad’s statements on January 3, in which he claimed that Lord Ram, associated with the Bahujan community, was a non-vegetarian. He asserted, “We don’t read history and forget everything in politics. Ram is ours, of us Bahujans, who used to hunt to eat. Ram was never a vegetarian. How can a man who lived in the jungle for 14 years remain vegetarian?”
Awhad’s remarks triggered widespread outrage, with BJP activists organizing protests against him across the state. In response to the mounting pressure, Awhad expressed regret on January 4 but did not retract his statement, emphasizing that his reference was based on the Valmiki Ramayana.
In his FIR, BJP leader Ghate alleges that Awhad has hurt the sentiments of Hindus, particularly at a sensitive time when preparations are underway for the inauguration of the Ram Mandir scheduled for January 22 in Ayodhya.
