No hello, pranam or namaskar anymore. In its New Year resolutions, the BJP has decided to discard such salutations or greetings in Bihar and adopt Jai Shri Ram or Jai Siyaram instead.
The decision, along with other steps, taken at a meeting of senior state-level leaders chaired by Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary, is being seen as an attempt by the party to build the momentum surrounding the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, to enter the Lok Sabha poll field in April–May.
“I moved the resolution that everybody, especially BJP workers and leaders, should greet others with either Jai Shri Ram or Jai Siyaram, instead of saying hello, namaskar or pranam. Our senior leaders, including Choudhary and Union rural development minister Giriraj Singh, readily and gladly accepted it.
We will begin it from January 1,” BJP state general secretary Jagannath Thakur told
The Telegraph.
Asked about the benefits of the new greetings, Thakur, who is also the convener of the BJP’s “Ram Lala Darshan campaign committee”, said all things were not done for profit, but added they would “strengthen ‘Sanatan’ and our culture”. “The atmosphere will become Rammaya (engulfed with Lord Ram).”
The BJP’s booth-level workers will distribute invitations and yellow-coloured rice to people across the state from January 1 to 15, asking them to be a part of the inauguration of the temple by participating in prayers at their nearby temples on January 22 and partaking of prasad and food after the rituals are over.
“It will be followed by lighting up earthen lamps everywhere just like Diwali. The Prime Minister has also urged the people to celebrate Diwali on the evening of temple inauguration,” a BJP leader said.
The BJP is also going to distribute registration forms among people in all Assembly constituencies to gather details of those who want to visit the temple at Ayodhya.
“Preference will be given to the ‘kar sevaks’ who participated in the Ram Mandir movement and the middle-aged people who want to visit Ayodhya. We will make all arrangements, including train tickets, accommodation and food for it. The journey will start from January 25 onwards,” Thakur said.
The party would bear the cost of taking people to Ayodhya and book special trains from different railway stations for the purpose. A local medical team will also accompany the passengers on the trains.
