Poet and former politician Kumar Vishwas stoked a controversy on Sunday with his remarks on the interfaith marriage between actor Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal, saying that "someone took Lakshmi away."
During a poetry event in Meerut, Vishwas asked people to remember the teachings of Ramayana, warning that one should avoid a situation where the name of your house is "Ramayana" yet someone else takes away Lakshmi. The remark was seen as an indirect reference to the house of veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, which is named "Ramayana."
In a viral clip from the event, Vishwas can be heard urging parents to teach their children the values from the Ramayana.
“Apne bachhon ko Sita Ji ki behnon aur Bhagwan Ram ke bhaiyon ke naam yaad karaiye. Ek sanket de raha hoon, jo samajh jayein unki taliyan uthtein. Apne bachhon ko Ramayan padhwayi aur Geeta sunwayi. Anya tha aisa na ho ki aapke ghar ka naam to ‘Ramayan’ ho aur aapke ghar ki Shree Lakshmi ko koi aur uthakar le jaye (Teach your children the names of Sita Ji’s sisters and Lord Ram’s brothers. Here’s a hint – teach them the Ramayana and make them listen to the Gita. Otherwise, even though your house is named ‘Ramayana,’ someone else might take away the ‘Shree Lakshmi’ of your household),” he said.
Congress leaders reacted sharply to Vishwas's remarks with spokesperson Supriya Shrinate describing them as "lewd and cheap".
"Doesn’t a girl have the right to marry the person of her choice?" she asked and told Vishwas to reconsider his words.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar said that it is not appropriate to make such remarks about someone's life. "...He is educated and a poet, and as poets, he do not find it appropriate to make such comments about someone's personal life or their family," Anwar was quoted as saying by IANS.
Vishwas' remark comes close on the heels of actor Mukesh Khanna criticising Shatrughan Sinha’s upbringing. Khanna pointed out that his daughter Sonakshi had forgotten Ramayan and could not answer a simple question when she appeared on quiz show KBC some years ago.
“People were angry that Sonakshi didn’t know (for whom did Hanuman bring the Sanjeevani Booti), but I would say it’s not her fault—it’s her father’s fault. Why didn’t they teach their children this? Why did they become so modern? If I were Shaktimaan today, I would make kids sit down and teach them about Indian culture and Sanatan Dharma,” he said.
Sonakshi later hit back at the Shaktimaan actor. "I recently read a statement you made saying that it’s my father’s fault I did not answer a question about the Ramayana correctly on a show I attended many, many years back,” she wrote on Instagram.
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