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UP minister, ex-cricketer Chetan Chauhan says Hanuman was a 'sportsman'

UP minister, ex-cricketer Chetan Chauhan says Hanuman was a 'sportsman'

Chetan Chauhan

UP minister and former Indian cricketer Chetan Chauhan haswaded into the debate over LordHanuman's caste identity.

Chauhan, who is Uttar Pradesh's sports minister, is of the opinion that Hanuman was a sportsperson. He however said Hanuman did not have a caste.

"I believe that he (Lord Hanuman) was a sportsman who used to wrestle with his enemies. All the sportsmen of our country worship him as they require power and energy like him to emerge victoriously. The players do not worship him because of his caste. There is no caste of a saint, there is no caste of a mystic and in the same way, we believe in Hanuman ji. I consider him as God; I do not want him to get associated with some sort of caste," Chauhan told reporters on Saturday.

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The row over Hanuman's caste was sparked off by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

While campaigning ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan's Alwar district last month, Adityanath had said Hanuman was a Dalit.

That had led to an avalanche of opinions from spiritual and political leaders as to what Hanuman's caste might be.