"Seer confirmed that he is a devil": Swami Prasad Maurya escalates Ramcharitmanas row

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 1 : Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya on Wednesday said a sadhu, who allegedly announced a bounty of Rs 21 lakh to "behead" him over his 'Ramcharitmanas' remark, was a "devil" as he "cut" his photo with a sword.
Taking to Twitter, Maurya said, "The arrogant, hypocrite, disguised babas who had announced to give Rs 21 lakh to those who behead me, the same baba cut the photo with a sword and confirmed that he is a devil." (roughly translated from Hindi)

Last month, Maurya sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana.
Maurya further claimed that in the Ramcharitmanas, which was composed by Tulsidas, there are words hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community.
On January 30, Maurya has also taken a jibe at Mahant Raju Das by stating that he could have just cursed him instead of spending Rs 21 lakh to get him killed.
In his tweet, SP MLC Maurya stated, "A baba (seer) who claims to do the impossible is very popular nowadays. What kind of a baba are you? Despite having the most powerful back, you are offering a bounty to get me killed. You could have simply cursed. You could have also saved Rs 21 lakh and people could see your real face."
On January 28 too, the SP leader said he will continue to oppose the "conspiracy to humiliate tribals, Dalits-backwards and women" in the name of religion. "Just as an elephant does not change its gait due to barking of dogs, in the same way, I will not change my point until they are given their duly respected," he said in a tweet.