SHIV ‘RAJ’ VS RAM RAJ

IT MAY sound blasphemous for some and “rightly” ridiculous for others, but a few ruling BJP leaders, including a state Cabinet minister, have started drawing a parallel between the 13-year rule of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and that of Lord Ram, an iconic figure of Hindu mythology.

State revenue minister Umashankar Gupta has even gone to the extent of saying that Shiv(raj) raj (rule of Mr Chouhan) is better than Ram raj (rule of Lord Ram).

“Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has shown his magnanimity by introducing a welfare scheme for farmers which needed repayment of only `90,000 for a loan of `1 lakh,” he said, and added: “No government in history has ever provided a sop of such kind. Even farmers were not treated this way in Ram rajya.” He was addressing a farmers’ meet here last week. Mr Gupta stuck to his guns when mediapersons sought a clarification from him on the remark, saying: “I sincerely believe our chief minister’s rule is even better than that of Lord Ram (Ram raj).”

At least two BJP MLAs — Rameshwar Sharma and Mohan — have so far joined the chorus of Mr Gupta in singing paeans of the chief minister. Their way of showing loyalty to the chief minister has left their party colleagues stunned.

“This is height of sycophancy,” a senior BJP leader quipped, revealing that some party legislators, who are apprehensive of denial of ticket to them in the 2018 Assembly polls, have resorted to sycophancy to keep the chief minister in good humour for their renomination.

“I feel some sanity still prevails among BJP people since the chief minister is yet to be deified as Lord Ram by any one of them,” a Congress spokesman observed sarcastically.