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Swami Prasad Maurya highlighted the issues of poverty and unemployment in the country, questioning whether the worship has had any impact on the lives of millions.
Swami Prasad Maurya File pic/PTI
Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RRSP) chief Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday stirred a row with his remarks questioning the traditional worship of Goddess Laxmi for prosperity, saying that offering prayers to the goddess is “miles away from practicality.”
Raising questions on the traditional practice, he said that if worshipping Goddess Laxmi truly brought wealth, India wouldn’t still be counted among the poorer nations, with 80 crore people continuing to live in poverty.
“…Offering prayers to Goddess Lakshmi might be a tradition, but this is miles away from practicality. Had praying to Goddess Lakshmi made one rich, India would not have been one of the poor nations in the world. 80 crore people in the country still lead a life of poverty…” he said as quoted by news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party president Swami Prasad Maurya says, “…Offering prayers to Goddess Lakshmi might be a tradition, but this is miles away from practicality. Had praying to Goddess Lakshmi made one rich, India would not have been one of the poor nations in… pic.twitter.com/fp6fH1jqF2— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2025
The former Samajwadi Party leader highlighted the issues of poverty and unemployment in the country, questioning whether the worship has had any impact on the lives of millions. “Can those 80 crore people who survive on 5-10 kgs of rice send their children to universities? Can such people make their children doctors, engineers, professors, advocates, IAS, IPS or scientists? Never. Crores of youths are unemployed today,” Maurya said.
He further clarified his stance saying that he does not oppose any form of worship. However, he appealed to people to also recognise and respect the efforts of women within households, often referred to as ‘Ghar ki Lakshmi’.
“I just said that ‘Ghar ki Lakshmi’ should be worshipped because she keeps the house tidy round the clock and makes it heavenly… If you have to pray, pray to ‘Ghar ki Lakshmi’ so that there is joy and prosperity at home. This is an appeal. If people take this otherwise, it depends on their mindset,” he added.
VHP Reacts
Maurya’s comments drew a sharp response from VHP, saying that they want a ‘sar tan se juda’ gang within the Sanatanis too.
“The name of his wife is ‘Shiva’. Before saying this, he should have worshipped her and shown us. It would have been good…His mother’s name is ‘Jagannathi’. When she named him ‘Swami Prasad’, what would she have thought?” VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said.
“An individual might be good as a person but when they belong to a party, I feel they forget everything…A leader advocates for Christmas during Diwali, another leader also makes statements on diyas and says that those who light diyas burn the country. Imagine their mindset, the venom deep inside them…They want a ‘sar tan se juda’ gang within the Sanatanis too. But it won’t happen. Hindus won’t do this…There is an alliance of INDI, one will speak from UP and the other will speak from Karnataka…” he added.
Past Controversy
This is not the first time Maurya has made statements challenging religious or cultural practices. Earlier, the former minister had said that objectionable language was used against Dalits and Adivasis in the holy scripture of Ramcharitramanas, written by Tulsidas.
“This is not true that crores of people read it. It was written by Tulsidas for own happiness. But why abuses in the name of religion? Abuses to Backwards, Dalits and tribals. I respect all religions. But if in the name of religion, a community or caste is humiliated then it is objectionable,” he had said.
The remarks drew sharp condemnation and an FIR was also registered against him.
Ramcharitmanas, an epic poem in the Awadhi language, is based on the Ramayana and has been composed by 16th-century Bhakti poet Tulsidas.
(With inputs from agencies)
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
October 21, 2025, 21:37 IST
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