Yet another controversy erupted on Tuesday when prominent leaders from the INDIA Bloc invoked the name of Lord Ram in a different connotation, prompting the ruling BJP and others to attack the Opposition members for their regular disparaging remarks against Sanatan Dharma.
Though the Congress condemned and distanced itself from their close ally, DMK’s A Raja’s remark suggesting that ‘they’ be considered enemies of Lord Ram, during the day, the grand old party itself faced heavy backlash after its top leader, Rahul Gandhi, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment in the country, saying the PM wants the nation to chant “Jai Shri Ram and die of hunger”.
Rahul accused the Prime Minister of keeping the youth busy in chanting Jai Shri Ram to avoid accountability.
The BJP said Opposition parties, INDIA Bloc, are against Hinduism and Lord Ram, and insulting India’s ethos publicly and humiliating Hindu gods. It has become the hallmark of their political agenda, said the BJP.
Interestingly, while the BJP uses such comments as an opportunity to attack the Opposition, it described Raja’s comments as a call for the ‘balkanisation’ of the country and demanded his arrest.
The controversy erupted over a video of former Union Minister in the Congress-led UPA Government, A Raja, purportedly making remarks that India has never been a nation but a subcontinent with diverse practices and cultures.
Raja’s certain remarks regarding Ramayana and Lord Ram also did not sit well with the national parties.
“If you say it’s this God, this is Jai Sri Ram, this is Bharat Mata ki Jai, then we and Tamil Nadu will never accept Bharat Mata and Jai Shri Ram….Tamil Nadu won’t accept. You go and tell, we’re enemies of Ram,” A Raja allegedly said.
On his part during ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra currently traversing in Madhya Pradesh, Rahul said, “PM Modi desires our youth to spend all their time watching reels on mobile phones and chanting Jai Shri Ram, even as they starve to death”.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said these are the people who want to destroy the Indian culture.
Referring to Raja’s controversial remark on Lord Ram and questioning the idea of India, Thakur said these are the people who “abuse Hindi, talk about destroying India and are part of the ‘tukde tukde’ gang”.
The Union Minister alleged that “slogans of ‘Pakistan zindabad’ rent the air” when their leader won the Rajya Sabha elections in the State and asked the compulsion behind such steps. He appealed to the countrymen to remain united and not fall prey to the evil designs of the Congress and the INDIA Bloc parties.
In the video, Raja purportedly said, “India is not a (one) nation. Understand this well. India has never been one nation.
“One nation denotes one language, one tradition and one culture and only such characteristics make one nation.”
“What’s the reason? Here, Tamil is one nation and one country. Malayalam is one language, one nation and one country. Oriya is one nation, one language and one country. All such national races constitute India. So, India is not a country, it is a subcontinent that has various practices, traditions and cultures. Further, he said states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Odisha, there were respective local culture.
“In Manipur, dog meat is eaten, which is a cultural aspect. In Kashmir there is one culture. Every culture has to be recognised. If a community eats beef, recognise it, what is your problem? Did they ask you to eat? So, (that is) unity in diversity. We have differences and it has to be acknowledged.”
This is the second time Raja has made such remarks which was seconded by his colleague TR Balu who also served as Union Minister in Manmohan Singh Government.
Another DMK leader Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Udyanaidhi Stalin too had said ‘eradicate Sanatan Dharma’ which led to a huge controversy and all the opposition alliance partners including Congress had distanced with the statement.
Addressing a Press conference at the BJP headquarters, senior party leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that DMK MP Raja in his latest speech in Tamil has said “India is not a nation. Understand this well. India is never a nation. One nation means one language, one tradition, one culture. Then, only it is a nation. India is not a nation but a sub-continent”.
“This is Maoist ideology,” Prasad charged, reacting sharply to the DMK leader’s reported remarks.
Prasad further quoted Raja who said in his speech “if this is your Jai Shri Ram, if this is your Bharat Mata Ki Jai, we will never accept that Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata. Tamil don’t accept. You go and tell (that) we are enemies of Ram”.
Supriya Shrinate, a Congress spokesperson, when asked about Raja’s remarks, said, “I 100 per cent disagree with his remarks. From this platform, I condemn such a statement. I believe Ram belongs to everyone and is all encompassing.”
The Supreme Court on Monday rebuked Dayanidhi Stalin over his “eradicate Sanatan dharma” remark and asked why he has moved the court with his plea for clubbing together the FIRs filed against him after abusing his right to freedom of speech and expression.
