A court here has summoned senior BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya while holding him "prima facie responsible" for hurting religious sentiments through his statement.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Saroj Kumar Yadav yesterday summoned Maurya, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, on a petition filed by a local lawyer Anil Tewari.
The court has fixed December 9 as the next date of hearing.
According to the petition, Maurya appealed on September 21 not to worship 'Gauri' and 'Gansesh' in weddings terming it as a trick to mislead Dalits and backwards under the 'Manuvadi' system.
The petitioner, Tewari, alleged that the statement amounted to hurting the religious sentiments of a section of society.
After hearing the petitioner, the court held Maurya "prima facie responsible" for hurting the religious sentiments and summoned him to the court.
