Meerut: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has yet again stoked controversy by saying all Hindu women must produce four children to protect Hindu religion.
“The concept of four wives and 40 children will not work in India and the time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect Hindu religion,” he said at a gathering for the Sant Samagam Mahotsava in Meerut on Tuesday.
Sakshi Maharaj went further to add that those involved in conversion must be punished with death though ‘ghar wapsi’ (reconversion) is not equivalent to conversion. “Wait for some time,” he thundered, “a law will be passed in Parliament in which anyone indulging in cow slaughter and conversion will be punished with the death sentence.”
On Ram mandir, Maharaj said, “No power on earth can stop the construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya. It will be constructed, come what may.”
Sanjay Jha wrote on Twitter: “There is only one way to describe Sakshi Maharaj’s ludicrous and provocative call for Hindu women to have four children; beyond a boundary.”
Priyanka Chaturvedi, also of the Congress party, wondered if women were born only to have children:
Academic Prerna Bakshi questioned the “irony” of the statement:
Many like journalist Kanika Gahlaut have been using sarcasm to poke fun at the MP’s comment:
Journalist TS Sudhir wondered if this was what Prime Minister Narendra Modi meant when he launched the “Make in India” campaign to turn the country into a manufacturing hub:
Journalist Nistula Hebbar wanted Sakshi Maharaj to shut up:
Comedian Rohan said the comment suggested the MP had never had to deal with the tough nursery school admission process in the country:
However, this is not the first time Sakshi Maharasj has made a controversial statement.
Earlier, on December 11, BJP lawmaker had raked up a controversy saying father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was a nationalist.
However, Sakshi Maharaj later tendered his apology saying, “I respect Bapu and also the parliament. If I have said anything by mistake, I withdraw my statement. Godse was not a nationalist.”
His statement had led to an uproar in both the houses of Parliament for almost a week.
