Lucknow, Dec 26 (IANS): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya has once again landed in controversy over his comment on Hinduism.

Maurya, while addressing the Bahujan Samaj Rights Conference at Jantar Mantar, had called the Hindu religion a deception on Monday.

He said, “Hindu ek dhokha hai (Hindu religion is a kind of deception). RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said twice that there is no religion called Hinduism but instead, it is a way of living. Prime Minister Modi has also said that there is no Hindu religion. Sentiments do not get hurt when these people make such statements but if Swami Prasad Maurya says the same, it causes unrest.”

Following Maurya’s remarks, Akhilesh Yadav advised that there should be no comment on religion and caste.

Addressing the representatives of Kannauj's Prabuddha Samaj and Maha Brahmin Samaj Panchayat at the party's state headquarters in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav advised that leaders should avoid making comments on religion and caste.

Some party workers had objected to the statements of Swami Maurya without taking his name. When the issue was raised in the Panchayat, Akhilesh agreed that this thing should be curbed at any cost.

Earlier, several Brahmin leaders of the party had complained to Akhilesh over statements made by Maurya.

Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, had kicked up a controversy earlier this year by alleging that certain verses of the Ramcharitmanas were an "insult" to a large section of society on the basis of caste and demanded that these be "banned."

Maurya, who was a Cabinet Minister in the BJP Government, had resigned and joined the Samajwadi Party before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.