SP's Swami Prasad Maurya asks why Lakshmi has 4 hands, gets rebuked by party
Lucknow, Nov 13: Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya's asking on X how Goddess Lakshmi can have four hands has attracted sharp rebuke from many, including his own party, whose spokesperson asked him to "stop harming the party."
The leader had earlier made headlines with his controversial remarks on Ramcharitmanas and Badrinath.
Among those who took exception to his comment were leaders from the Congress and the BJP.
Maurya in a post on X on Sunday, said he worshipped his wife on Diwali as she is the Lakshmi of his house, and in a true sense, a homemaker.
"... 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 a 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 his post.
"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.
Taking an apparent dislike to what he said, SP spokesperson IP Singh asked him to stop harming the party.
He said the party does not subscribe to Maurya's remarks, which he said are 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... Stop harming the party," he wrote on X.
"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.
Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Monday said it seems Maurya has been making his comments as part of an agenda to hurt the 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.
BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia in a post on X 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?"
Maurya on Monday said this was not the first time he said such a thing and that he had said it Last Diwali too.
"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 insisted he did not mean to hurt anyone with his remark.
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 prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, who had defected to the SP from the BJP just before the 2022 Assembly elections, had earlier too stoked controversies commenting on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu temples.
The BJP considers "Brahmin religion," which is followed by only 10 per cent of the people, as the "Hindu religion" but there exists nothing like "Hindu religion," he had earlier said.
Earlier in the year, the SP leader triggered another row claiming that certain verses of Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas "insult" a large section of the society.
He had also claimed that before becoming a Hindu pilgrimage site in the eighth century, Badrinath used to be a Buddhist monastery.
#WATCH | Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya says, "...In the real sense, your wife is your 'Ghar ki Laxmi', as the manner in which she manages the household, worries about it and works towards its maintenance and prosperity - nobody else can do it...So, when she is… pic.twitter.com/nojvQpH9A2
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 13, 2023
दीपोत्सव के अवसर पर अपनी पत्नी का पूजा व सम्मान करते हुए कहा कि पूरे विश्व के प्रत्येक धर्म, जाति, नस्ल, रंग व देश में पैदा होने वाले बच्चे के दो हाथ, दो पैर, दो कान, दो आंख, दो छिद्रों वाली नाक के साथ एक सिर, पेट व पीठ ही होती है, चार हाथ,आठ हाथ, दस हाथ, बीस हाथ व हजार हाथ वाला… pic.twitter.com/CP5AjKODfq
— Swami Prasad Maurya (@SwamiPMaurya) November 12, 2023
5 वर्ष बीजेपी में आप कैबिनेट मंत्री रहे तब मां लक्ष्मी जी और भगवान गणेश जी पर अभद्र टिप्पणी करते हुए डरते थे।
— I.P. Singh (@IPSinghSp) November 13, 2023
आपकी बेटी बदायूं से सांसद हैं अपने को सनातनी बताती हैं कोई पूजा-पाठ नहीं छोड़ती। कम से कम आप अपने बेटे बेटी को समझा लेते।
पार्टी को नुकसान पहुँचाना बन्द करिये।
ये आपके… https://t.co/BRwXom9h4k pic.twitter.com/RL7uxGao8E
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
