New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday sought to link the “lotus” in the G20 logo with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) poll symbol and the avtaran (incarnation) of the Gujjar community’s deity Shree Devnarayan. He was addressing a massive gathering of Gujjars at Malaseri Dungri village in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district on the occasion of the revered deity’s 1,111th birth anniversary.
In what is being seen as BJP’s outreach to the Gujjar community ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections, scheduled for later this year, Modi said that not only does Lord Devnarayan’s 1,111th birth anniversary coincide with India’s G20 presidency, but how it’s a coincidence that the deity appeared on a lotus. The G20 logo has a lotus and “we are those people who were born with the lotus.”
“Aur yeh bhi dekhiye kaisa sanjog hai. Bhagwan Devnarayan ji ka 1,111th avtaran barsh, us hee samay Bharat ki G20 ki adhyakshata. Aur usme bhi Bhagwan Devnarayan ka avtaran kamal par hua tha aur G-20 ka jo logo hain usme bhi kamal ke upar puri prithvi ko baithaya hai. Aur hum toh woh log hai jo paidaish hi kamal ke saath hui hai. Aur isliye hamara apka nata kuch gehra hai (Lord Devnarayan’s 1,111 birth anniversary coincides with India’s G20 presidency and in that, too, Lord Devnarayan appeared on a lotus and in the G-20 logo, too, the planet Earth has been placed on top of a lotus. And we are those people who were born with the lotus. That is why we have a deep relation with you),” Modi said at the event.
The presence of lotus in the G20 logo, which was unveiled by PM Modi on 8 November, 2022, had created controversy with the opposition Congress accusing the BJP of promoting its poll symbol.
The G20 logo has an image of the Earth placed on top of a lotus in saffron and green colours.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in-charge of communication, had said it was “shocking” that the BJP’s election symbol had been put in the G20 logo. The BJP had hit back saying the opposition is “denigrating and undermining” India’s national flower.
In a video conference, Modi had said that the symbol of the lotus in the G20 logo is a representation of hope in this time. “No matter how adverse the circumstances, the lotus will bloom.”
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‘With blessings of God Devnarayan, all of us will be successful’
Modi’s visit to Malaseri Dungri to woo Gujjars comes at a time when the community’s most influential leader, Congress’ Sachin Pilot, is locked in a battle for chief ministership with Ashok Gehlot.
According to political observers, the PM’s visit is significant and is meant to send a strong message to the Gujjar community, which had drifted away from the BJP and voted for the Congress in 2018 in the hope that Pilot will be made the CM, a first for the community.
While all the nine Gujjar candidates fielded by the BJP in 2018 assembly elections lost, candidates from the community fielded by the Congress won, including Sachin Pilot from Tonk, Ashok Chandna from Bundi, Shakuntala Rawat from Bansur and Indraj Singh Gurjar from Virat Nagar. Later, Joginder Singh Awana, a Gujjar who won on a BSP ticket, joined the Congress taking its overall Gujjar tally to 8.
Reaching out to the community, Modi urged Gujjar youths to work hard and spread the message of Shree Devnarayan. “I am confident that with the blessings of God Devnarayan, all of us will be successful.”
The PM also referred to how tall figures from Rajasthan — from Bappa Rawal ji to Maharana Pratap — have always shown the way to the country.
He spoke at length about the schemes his government had initiated, like the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, for the betterment of the farming community. Gujjars are primarily a pastoral community.
He also spoke of how Lord Devnarayan had made “gauseva” (caring for cows) a medium of social service and strengthening the society. “Since the last few years in the country we, too, are continuously strengthening this feeling of caring for the cow”.
“For the first time in India, we launched Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for the welfare of the cow. We are encouraging animal husbandry through scientific means under Rashtriya Gokul Mission,” he added.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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