The BJP’s ideological twin, the Shiv Sena, which took credit for the demolition of the Babri Masjid when top leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani were lamenting the undesirable act, has now reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of what Ram stood for — truth, morality and justice.
A day before the Prime Minister is to preside over the consecration ceremony at the temple in Ayodhya, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson Sanjay Raut wrote in party mouthpiece Saamna: “There was no politics in the fight for Ram temple but the inauguration of the temple is dominated by politics. Lord Ram is being pushed into an incomplete temple as part of the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.”
Sarcastically pointing to posters showing a tiny Ram walking towards Ayodhya holding a giant Modi’s finger, Raut said: “Ram is an ideal who symbolised sacrifice. Ram stood for truth. Ram never relied on hypocrisy. Ram Rajya had a liberal system where morality was at its peak. There was no Adani or (dominance of) any capitalist then. People got justice and were happy. But those conducting the ceremony today often rely on untruths.”
The Shiv Sena, now broken into two pieces owing to the Machiavellian politics of its mentor BJP, was then the most formidable voice of Hindutva in India. When the chief protagonist of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, L.K. Advani, had broken down and described the demolition of the mosque as the saddest day of his life, the then “Hindu Hriday Samrat”, Balasaheb Thackeray, congratulated his soldiers for pulling down the structure.
The irony of politics is such that his son Uddhav Thackeray, now in the Opposition camp, was originally not on the list of invitees to the January 22 consecration ceremony, controlled by the RSS-BJP.
While fierce ideological rivals, corporate bosses, film actors and sports personalities were among those invited, some of the most vocal Hindutva proponents were left out. The entire country witnessed the bizarre spectacle of communist leader Sitaram Yechury rejecting the invite and Uddhav grudging the slight.
When Uddhav announced his plan to spend January 22 offering prayers at the Kalaram temple in Nashik’s Panchvati where Ram stayed with Sita and Lakshman during his exile, the Ayodhya temple trust finally sent the invite through speed post on Sunday, barely hours before the programme.
This has enraged the Sena, with Raut saying: “All film stars are invited but the Thackeray family, which has been closely associated with the movement, is treated in such a manner. You take Ram’s name and rule like Ravana? Ram will curse you.”
Raut wrote in his column: “There is an attempt to claim the ownership of both the temple and Ram now. Ram will enter the temple at the political mahurat (timing) chosen by Modi. All the four Shankaracharyas and other religious gurus have objected to the timing. The Shankaracharyas have pointed out that a consecration cannot happen in an incomplete temple. But all objections were brushed aside. The BJP even tried to project the Shankaracharyas as fools and questioned their contribution to Hinduism.”
