Lord Hanuman was slave of 'manuwadi' people: BJP MP
Lucknow, Dec 4: Bahraich BJP MP Savitri Bai Phule Tuesday claimed that Lord Hanuman was "a Dalit and a slave of 'manuwadi' people", joining a row which erupted over UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement that the deity was a Dalit.
She alleged that Dalits and backwards were being called 'bandar' (monkey) and 'rakshas' (demon).
"Lord Hanuman was a Dalit and a slave of 'manuwadi' people. He was a Dalit and a human. He did all for Lord Ram then why he was given a tail and his face was blackened. Why was he made a monkey?," Phule said.
"When he did all for Lord Ram with devotion, he (Lord Hanuman) should have been made a human and not a 'bandar' (monkey). At that time also he had to face humiliation due to being a Dalit. Why can't we Dalits be considered humans?", she told PTI over phone.
During a poll rally in Malakheda of Alwar district, Adityanath had said, "Lord Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west."
After his statement, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar asked members of his community to take over all temples belonging to Lord Hanuman.
"Dalits should take over all Hanuman temples in the country and appoint Dalits as priests there," Chandrashekhar had said.
When asked about the Ram temple issue, which is pending in the Supreme Court, Phule said the BJP is raking up the matter as it has no other issues.
"The country does not need a temple. Will it end unemployment and other problems of Dalits and backwards? The temple will benefit Brahmins, who are only 3 per cent. The money offered in temples are used by them for their gains and make our community (Dalit) their slave," she said.
"We want rights given to us in the constitution," the BJP MP said, adding that "Hamko adhikar chahiya warna kursi khali karo (Give us our rights or leave the government)".
Phule had earlier raised questions on BJP leaders dining at the houses of Dalits and had termed the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, "a mahapurush" (great personality), causing embarrassment to her party.
When asked to comment on the statement of Phule, BJP spokesman Chandra Mohan said, "It seems she didn't have much knowledge of Indian tradition."
On her attacking the BJP on the Ram temple issue, he said he would not like to comment and people know what she was doing.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
