Irked over Manjhi's remarks, Brahmins perform Satyanarayan puja outside his Patna residence

Patna, Dec 23 (IANS) A large number of Brahmins on Thursday assembled outside the official residence of former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and perfomed a 'Satyanarayan Puja.'

This comes as a retaliation to Manjhi's expletive against the community.

They also attempted to enter his residence but were prevented by the police on duty.

"Jitan Ram Manjhi had said that Brahmins cannot eat food in the houses of Dalits. We have assembled here to be fed with his hands," said Yesh Raj, a member of Brahmin community.

"We have organised a Satyanarayan Puja (Worshiping Lord Vishnu) near to his residence and asked Manjhi ji to come here, serve us food and offer "Dakshina" which a Brahmin is entitled to, after any Puja comes under Hindu community," he added.

"We are the followers of eternal religion. Over the years, Jitan Ram Manjhi has been giving statements against Hindu Gods and Goddesses. He has spoken against Lord Rama, Hunumana, etc. We worship every God and Goddess apart from Satyanarayan Puja today. It's up to him to respect us," said Surendra Nath Jha, another member of the community.

It is not the Brahmins, but people like Manjhi who are dividing the society. They create differences among people.

"He has been doing politics in Bihar based on caste and community. He claims to be a leader of Dalit community. If he is giving statements against Brahmins, that means he is asking Dalits to stay away from Brahmins," Jha said.

Another member Himanshu Pandey said: "Jitan Ram Manjhi belongs to a caste (Mushar) which used to eat mouse. If he or any person of his caste serves us the meat, we will not have it. Since Brahmins used to eat Chura (made of boiled paddy) and curd, we will definitely eat the same if he provides us. We want to request Manjhi ji to first serve proper food. We cannot eat mouse."

Jitan Ram Manjhi, while addressing his community here on December 19, had made a derogatory remark against Brahmins. He said: "Brahmins used to perform Satya Narayan Puja for our community but do not have food with us. Instead of food, they demand money from us."

After coming under fire for his utterances, Jitan Ram Manjhi apologised for his comment. He said that he is against "Brahminism" not against the "Brahmins." The Brahaminism ideology advocate untouchability phenomenon in society. They believe that Dalits are untouchables, he added.