In MP and C’garh, Cong tries to claim Ram legacy ›
In his first electoral speech in 1989, he [Rajiv Gandhi] talked about Ramrajya .... I wish to tell the young generation about this... KAMAL NATH, Cong leader
BHOPAL/RAIPUR: The Congress is unwilling to allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to solely take credit for the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya and has entrusted the job of countering its arch-rival on the issue to its leaders in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where Lord Ram is believed be have lived during his 14-year exile, functionaries aware of the matter said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple construction on August 5. A Supreme Court ruling in November ended a decades-old dispute and ordered that a Ram temple be built on the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Congress workers across the state plan to recite Hanuman Chalisa on Tuesday. The Congress government in neighbouring Chhattisgarh has announced the development of three tourist circuits linked to Ram’s exile as part of attempts to claim his legacy.
Nath on Monday said the country knows that late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was instrumental behind opening the locks of the disputed site in Ayodhya in 1985. He said Rajiv Gandhi gave his consent for laying a foundation stone for the temple in 1989. “In his first electoral speech in 1989, he [Rajiv Gandhi] talked about Ramrajya. This is all in the records. I wish to tell the young generation about this...,” he said. Nath earlier announced his participation in the Hanuman Chalisa recitation for the state’s“prosperity and happiness”.
Bypolls to 27 assembly seats are due in Madhya Pradesh. They are crucial for BJP government’s survival in the state. The BJP has 107 legislators and needs to win at least nine seats to reach the majority mark in the 230 member assembly. The Congress, which won 114 seats in the 2018 elections, now has 89 seats. The resignations of 22 legislators in March brought down the Congress government and paved the way for the BJP’S return to power. A Congress MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the recital is being organised to also send out a message that it was Rajiv Gandhi, who was instru135 mental behind “what we are going to see on August 5, and that the BJP only drew political mileage from the issue”.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Sunday construction of a “magnificent” temple dedicated to Lord Ram’s mother, Kaushalya, in Raipur as well as the development of religious tourist circuits also covering Turturiya’s Valmiki Ashram.
A 1,000-year-old Shiv Temple in Jagdalpur district, which Lord Ram is believed to have established during the exile, will also be renovated, the Chhattisgarh government said on Monday.
The projects will be part of Chhattisgarh government’s Ram Van Gaman Path Project (Ram Forest Travel Route) worth ~137.45 crore, the statement said.
Vijesh Lunawat, the state BJP vice-president in Madhya Pradesh, said, “The country knows about the stand of the Congress. Today, they are talking of Ram temple on seeing the massive sentiments of people. It is better that they continue to practise the policy of [minority] appeasement.”
Political analyst Girija Shankar said Nath and Baghel’s announcements suggest a vacuum at the party’s central level. “In fact, any stand like this should be decided by the party’s central leadership which is not existing as it appears...,” Shankar further said.