Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for incorrect translation of a "Shloka" (verse) of Bhagavad Gita, which had Opposition parties accuse him of promoting caste division.
The now-deleted post which sparked a political controversy had said that according to the Gita, it is the duty of the Shudras to serve the other three castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for incorrect translation of a "Shloka" (verse) of Bhagavad Gita, which had Opposition parties accuse him of promoting caste division.
The now-deleted post which sparked a political controversy had said that according to the Gita, it is the duty of the Shudras to serve the other three castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.
Apologising for the same on Thursday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, "As a routine I upload one sloka of Bhagavad Gita every morning on my social media handles. Till date, I have posted 668 slokas. Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation."
As soon as I noticed the mistake, I promptly deleted the post, he said in the post.
"The state of Assam reflects a perfect picture of a casteless society, thanks to the reform movement led by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. If the deleted post has offended anyone, I sincerely apologize," he said.
Slamming the post in which Himanta Biswa Sarma had incorrectly translated a Shloka of Bhagavad Gita, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "In a recently deleted post, Assam CM elaborated on his vision of society. “…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are natural duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.”
"Holding a constitutional position, your oath is to treat every citizen equally. It’s reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam’s Muslims have faced in the past few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice," Owaisi said.
Congress leader Pawan Khera also hit out at Himanta Biswa Sarma over the post and asked whether the Prime Minister and the President agreed with his castesist comments. "And then if you say something to him, he will send his cops. But such stupid comments cannot be ignored. Do @rashtrapatibhvn and @PMOIndia agree with @himantabiswa’s casteist comments?" Khera said.