While the temple is stuck in court, BJP is busy rebuilding the legend of Lord Ram in UP

A wall of bricks bearing 'Shri Ram' chants seen at the Ram Janmabhomi Nyas-run workshop at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya | PTI Photo

From announcing statues of Lord Ram to renaming Faizabad district, BJP govts in UP and at the Centre have raised matters to a fever pitch over the last year.

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government announced Tuesday that walls will be constructed around Ramleela maidans in 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh, and painted with murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana.

In itself, it doesn’t sound like big a deal, especially given the fervour gripping the state in the name of Lord Ram. But even as the Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit in Ayodhya, the BJP is busy rebuilding Lord Ram’s legend — and this latest move is just another brick in the wall.

From announcing the construction of Lord Ram’s statues and renaming Faizabad district to Ayodhya to launching bus and train routes on the Ramayana circuit — over the last one year, the BJP governments in UP and at the Centre have done a lot to raise matters to a fever pitch.

Hundreds gathered in the temple city for a VHP-organised dharma sabha, where seers pointed fingers at the Supreme Court for not making the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit a priority. But while Adityanath the star campaigner has been drumming up support for the party in the name of Lord Ram in the states going to the polls, as chief minister, he has refrained from rallying behind the seers.

Slew of measures

Hours before the VHP’s dharma sabha, the UP government revealed details of the statue of Lord Ram it plans to construct in Ayodhya. Proposed to be 221 metres tall, the statue is set to come up on the banks of the Sarayu river.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the Dev Diwali Festival on the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi | PTI

The announcement had first been made by Adityanath on Diwali, who assured that a solution to Ram mandir will also be found.

Earlier this year, the government had announced plans to construct another statue of Lord Ram. Last week, Uttar Pradesh deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya reiterated that Allahabad, now Prayagraj, will be home to two statues — one of Lord Ram and the other of fisherman king Nishadraj.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a bus service on the ‘Ramayana circuit’ from Janakpur in Nepal to Ayodhya in May this year, while a special train called Shri Ramayana Express was launched last week, which will take tourists to sites mentioned in the Ramayana — from Ayodhya to Rameswaram. There is an additional package being offered to those who want to travel to Sri Lanka by air.

Yogi on the campaign trail

Many BJP leaders have invoked Lord Ram on the campaign trail in the heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with Adityanath leading the way. Unlike the CM’s earlier stand, when he had underlined the significance of law and judiciary in the country, the campaign has seen a clear shift in position.

In Alwar, Rajasthan, Adityanath was addressing an election rally Tuesday when he elaborated on the multi-cultural nature of the country. It was Hanuman who connected all communities together, the UP CM said. Referring to Hanuman as a Dalit tribal, Adityanath made a distinction between voters — Ram bhakts vote for the BJP, while those who worship Ravana vote for the Congress.

Earlier this month, campaigning in Chhattisgarh, Adityanath used the Hindu deity for attacking Congress when he said: “Jo Ram ka nahin ho saka woh humare kisi kaam ka nahin (Those who could not belong to Ram are of no use to us)… Those who have created obstacles in the road to the construction of Ram Janmabhoomi temple — that Congress will not get any vote from us.”

At yet another rally, Adityanath claimed that Chhattisgarh was Lord Ram’s nanihaal
(maternal grandparents’ house), and once a temple is constructed there, another will also come up in Ayodhya.

An election issue

Reflecting on the sudden surge in invocations of Lord Ram, Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in Adityanath’s UP cabinet and chief of BJP ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, called it an election issue.

“They did not remember Ram in the last four and a half years. There was no mention of him. But as elections are underway in states like Rajasthan and MP, and 2019 Lok Sabha elections are coming closer, they have started using this,” Rajbhar told ThePrint.

“Politicians in this country do not want the people to progress. The entire world is now functioning on the idea of science. The most backward and poor live in this country, and instead of educating them and giving people jobs, they are indulging in the politics of vote, pitching one community against another.”

Voicing similar concerns, Rajendra Chaudhary, spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party said: “This is happening because 2019 is almost here. There are basic issues afflicting the people in UP — farmers are in bad shape and they have not been given the compensation they were promised, sugar mills are not functioning. But they (the BJP) are running away from these basic issues and furthering their own agenda. Voters, however, are aware of this.”

But the BJP counterattacked the opposition, with its spokesperson Manoj Mishra saying: “For the BJP, Ram mandir is an issue of faith. It is not a political issue. We believe that where Lord Ram was born is where the temple should be constructed. It is, in fact, the opposition which is giving it too much importance and trying to make it an election issue.

“We welcome and appreciate all the measures taken by the government. They are connecting people to places and events which are related to Lord Ram, and the issue of illegal encroachments at Ramleela grounds will also be eradicated.”