A group of BJP workers here staged a protest against Swami Prasad Maurya over his controversial remarks on the "Ramcharitmanas" as the Samajwadi Party leader's convoy made its way to Sonbhadra, police said.
Maurya, a general secretary in the Samajwadi Party (SP), recently courted controversy after he alleged that certain verses in the "Ramcharitmanas" -- a popular version of the "Ramayana" penned by Tulsidas -- "insult" a large section of society on the basis of caste and demanded a ban on those passages.
The protest took place on Sunday near the district's Tengra Morh area when Maurya was travelling from Varanasi to Sonbhadra, the police said.
Shouting slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Har Har Mahadev", the protesters also threw a black cloth at Maurya's car.
However, the police stopped the protesters before any untoward incident could take place and allowed the SP leader's convoy to pass.
No arrests have been made in this connection so far, they said.
One of the protesters demanded an apology from Maurya and said the protests against him would continue if he failed to do so.
He will also not be allowed to enter Kashi, the protester told reporters.
Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, was a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. He resigned from the party and joined the SP before the 2022 Assembly elections.
He unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls from Fazilnagar in Kushinagar district. He was later sent to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
On January 24, an FIR was registered against Maurya at Hazratganj police station over his controversial comments on the "Ramcharitmanas".
Another FIR was registered against him and others on January 29 at the PGI police station.