Bhopal: While Congress’ top leadership has “respectfully declined” the invite to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, calling it a “BJP/RSS event”, party leaders in Madhya Pradesh are busy organising a series of events to mark the occasion. These range from a 21-day ‘Shri Ram Mahotsav’ in Chhindwara to a bike rally from Dhar to Ayodhya.
To begin with, Nakul Nath, the sitting legislator from Chhindwara and the Congress’ sole MP from the state, along with his father former chief minister Kamal Nath, is organising a “21-day long Shri Ram Mahotsav” in Chhindwara, the family bastion, and Pandhurna — MP’s newest district. The “Shri Ram Mahotsav” is being held under the aegis of Maruti Nandan Sewa Samiti, which counts both Nakul and Kamal Nath as its patrons.
As part of the 21-day festival which commenced on 4 January, organisers aim to distribute at least four lakh patraks (pamphlets) across villages in Chhindwara and Pandhurna for devotees to write ‘Ram’ on each of them 108 times, along with their names and addresses.
A drive will then be carried out on 21 and 22 January to collect the pamphlets to be followed by a “Ram Aachran” — a religious ceremony — to be performed at a 150-year-old Ram temple in Chhindwara before the pamphlets are sent to Ayodhya.
“The patraks are a way to ensure people who cannot go to Ram temple either because of a physical disability or any other reason can contribute. These will be sent to Ayodhya in buses once it (Ram temple) is open for all,” Anand Bakshi, convener of the Maruti Nandan Sewa Samiti, told ThePrint.
The 21-day celebrations also included recitals of Akhand Path and Sunderkand Path held between 11 and 14 January. In addition to these, organisers are distributing one lakh copies of Ram Raksha Stotra — a booklet containing a hymn in praise of the Hindu deity Ram — across Chhindwara.
Meanwhile, three-time Congress MLA from Kukshi in Dhar district, Surendra ‘Honey’ Singh Baghel set out on a 1,200-km bike rally along with 21 others to ferry ‘holy water’ from the Narmada river to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“Our central leadership declined the invite as the religious event has been turned into a BJP event for electoral gains. They will go to Ram temple but not on a date decided by the BJP. We went to Ayodhya for the sake of our faith and entrusted the trustees with the water of the holy river Narmada to be included in the abhishek (consecration),” Baghel told ThePrint.
He added that local Congress leaders will organise a recital of Sunderkand Path in Dhar on 22 January, the day of the consecration.
There is also Jabalpur Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh Annu, who has vowed to take a train full of people from the city to Ayodhya after the consecration. “I am part of Mata Vaishno Devi Samiti, which is a non-political body and takes a train full of pilgrims (to the Vaishno Devi shrine) each year. I have taken a pledge to take at least one train full of pilgrims to Sita Mata’s temple in Hanuman Garhi, Ayodhya,” he said.
He also told ThePrint that the samiti sought reservations for 21 January through a written application to the railways but was denied the same on account of unavailability of seats. “But once the temple is completed, we will take people from Jabalpur as part of the samiti, it is a non-political event and we will not be going on a Congress flag,” Annu added.
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‘Jo Ram ka nahi wo kisi kaam ka nahi’
Against this backdrop, at least two Congress office bearers from the state including Roop Singh Nagar from Dewas and Anand Sharma from Gwalior have quit their respective posts citing that their religious sentiments were hurt by the decision of the party’s central leadership to decline the invite.
Explaining his reasons, Nagar, who was in charge of the party’s social welfare cell in Dewas, wrote in his resignation to state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, “Jo Ram ka nahi wo kisi kaam ka nahi (One who does not belong to Ram is no use to anybody).”
“If the Congress leadership feels BJP is politicising the event, they could have gone to the ceremony and given BJP a befitting reply,” Nagar told ThePrint.
The leadership’s decision to decline the invite also invited criticism from former legislator Lakshman Singh, who is also the brother of senior party leader and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh.
“Those who had fought for (Ram temple) have taken the decision, but what is the message we (Congress) are trying to send by declining the invitation? When Rajiv Gandhi had opened the lock, why are you declining it and if the leadership retains such advisors, they will continue getting the same (electoral) results they have been getting,” Lakshman Singh told reporters in Bhopal Friday.
State Congress chief Patwari, however, defended the decision.
“All those who have faith in the Hindu religion want to visit the temple, even Sonia ji and Kharge ji want to visit. When the temple and pran pratishta are completed, each Congress worker will visit the temple. But religion is a matter of faith and not of electoral gain and loss. Once the temple is completed, more than one lakh Congress workers will go to Ram temple,” he told the media in Bhind on 12 January.
Meanwhile, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has planned to hold live telecasts, a cleanliness campaign and mass feasts to mark the consecration ceremony.
The Madhya Pradesh Religious Trust and Endowment Department released a nine-point order Friday directing temples across the state to light lamps on the day of the consecration and organise ‘Ram kirtan’ from 16 to 22 January. ‘Ram mandalis’ are also to be organised in villages and localities in the state. In addition, the state government has declared 22 January to be observed as a ‘dry day’.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)