Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday lashed out at “dharm ke thekedaar” – self-appointed guardians of faith – whom he squarely blamed for Dalits being deprived of a life of dignity.

Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha is a part of the ruling alliance in the state, expressed anguish on Twitter, sharing a heart-wrenching news report of a Dalit couple in Karnataka being penalised after their two years old child inadvertently stepped into a temple.

Incidentally, Karnataka is ruled by the BJP which is also the largest partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar.

“I am giving voice to the pain that has been experienced for centuries. So far, I have been shy of expressing the anguish. Now nobody will say a word. The ”dharm ke thekedaar” go silent on such matters… they cannot brook Dalits entering the temples or offering their views on religious works (”dharmik kavya”),” he tweeted.

His outrage came close on the heels of a barrage of insults from the BJP after he made a statement, suggesting that Lord Rama was a fictional, and not historical, figure.

He made the comment recently, reacting to demands by some BJP leaders here that Ramayana be included in the school syllabus, following a similar move by the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.

Manjhi had said that he was very much in favour of the epic being taught in schools though he was of the view that “Lord Rama was not a man who lived on this earth at any point of time”.

In response, several BJP leaders came out with statements berating Manjhi.

BJP MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur went to the extent of asking why the former CM, a septuagenarian, “was named Jitan Ram Manjhi and not Jitan Rakshas (demon) Manjhi”.

Manjhi chose not to reply to the vituperations but stuck to his guns on Wednesday when he reiterated, “I do not believe Lord Rama was a great man. He is a work of fiction. I believe Valmiki and Goswami Tulsidas were great men who came out with such an inspiring character.”