Bihar: Education minister compares Ramcharitmanas to potassium cyanide; sparks controversy | WATCH

Addressing the gathering, Chandra Shekhar remarked, "If you serve fifty-five kinds of dishes and mix potassium cyanide into it, would you eat it? Same is the case with scriptures of Hinduism."

Bihar's Education Minister, Chandra Shekhar, has once again found himself in the midst of controversy. This time, during an event organized on Hindi Diwas, he drew criticism for comparing Ramcharitmanas, a Hindu religious text based on the Ramayana, to potassium cyanide.

Addressing the gathering, Chandra Shekhar remarked, "If you serve fifty-five kinds of dishes and mix potassium cyanide into it, would you eat it? Same is the case with scriptures of Hinduism."

He went on to mention that several authors, including Baba Nagarjun and Lohia, have also criticized this religious text.

Expressing his strong objection to Ramcharitmanas, Chandra Shekhar stated that his stance would persist throughout his life, adding that even RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had commented on it.

Furthermore, he brought up the issue of caste, asserting, "Unless the castes of those stepping in the gutter are changed, there will be a need for a reservation and caste census in this country."

In response to these statements, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar criticized Chandra Shekhar for continuously making controversial remarks about Ramcharitmanas and questioned Nitish Kumar's silence on the matter.

Neeraj Kumar even suggested that if Chandra Shekhar had a problem with Ramcharitmanas, he should consider converting to a different religion.

This is not the first time Chandra Shekhar has courted controversy with his comments on Ramcharitmanas. In January, he had claimed that the religious text "spreads hatred in society" and criticized it for opposing education for Dalits, backward classes, and women.