Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RRSP) chief Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday stirred a row with his remarks questioning the traditional worship of Goddess Laxmi for prosperity, saying that offering prayers to the goddess is “miles away from practicality."

Raising questions on the traditional practice, he said that if worshipping Goddess Laxmi truly brought wealth, India wouldn’t still be counted among the poorer nations, with 80 crore people continuing to live in poverty.

“…Offering prayers to Goddess Lakshmi might be a tradition, but this is miles away from practicality. Had praying to Goddess Lakshmi made one rich, India would not have been one of the poor nations in the world. 80 crore people in the country still lead a life of poverty…" he said as quoted by news agency ANI .

#WATCH

See Full Page