Bhagwat’s call for Ram Temple construction has familiar ring
By HARVINDER AHUJA
When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat called for early construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, it was a clear reminder that elections are around the corner. In his annual Vijayadashmi address in Nagpur, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief on October 18 demanded “an appropriate and requisite law” for building the temple.
“The Government should clear the path for construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya through an appropriate and requisite law. The temple construction was necessary from the ‘self-esteem point of view’ and it will also pave way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness,” he said.
The title suit over the disputed land at Ayodhya is pending in the Supreme Court and only recently the court paved the way for its early hearing by disposing of a related petition. Then where was the need for the ruling party’s ideological mentor to rake up the temple issue? Because,it knows, better than the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party, that the Ram Temple is one issue by which the voters can be swayed.
The scorecard of the Narendra Modi Government is not impressive enough to be flaunted before the public in 2019. The Government, which had the distinction of winning majority of its own after more than two decades, frittered most of its timeand resources on issues of least concern to common man. People had high hopes and after four-and-a-half years, they see nothing much to be enthused about.
Besides a vitiated social fabric and rising communal tensions during its tenure, the BJP Government has offered precious little to them. The issues it has been busy with are cow protection, culinary habits of people, renaming towns and cities, propagating yogaand glorifying ancient culture and antiquated practices. The real concerns, and demands, of the youth, women, farmers and businesses have largely taken a back seat.
In such a scenario, religion is an effective tool to whip up passions and seek votes, particularly among the rural, illiterate masses. The construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya has also been an ardent issue among a large number of Hindus across the spectrum. It has brought the BJP to power once before and the RSS believes the feat can be repeated.
It is, perhaps, conscious of the fact that the much-touted achievements of the Modi Government are not going to cut much ice with the electorate. The most significant, demonetisation, has been a total failure and even the RBI highlighted the futility of the entire exercise in its recent annual report. The aim of the sudden, dramatic action was to flush out black money, bring an end to terror funding and encourage digital transactions. None of these was achieved and people today remember DeMoonly for long queues outside banks, severe cash crunchand shutting down of small business.
The surgical strike, an Army action for which the Government unduly took credit, failed to achieve its desired objective. The heat between India and Pakistan is still not reduced, cross-border infiltration is on and acts of terror are continuing unabated. Relations between the countries are at their lowest ebb and the door for talks has been shut for long.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, a UPA initiative which has been in the making for almost a decade, was passed by the NDA Government. Because of its hasty implementation, absence of proper infrastructure and lack of awareness among traders and small businesses, its effects in the beginning were shaky and it is still to gain a firm ground.
Besides, there have been a plethora of schemes initiated by the Modi Government, some new and many of previous Government’s with new nomenclatures. However, none of these has had any significant impact on the ground. The Jan- Dhan Yojana, under which 1.5 crore zero-balance accounts were opened on the first day itself,has floundered over a period and most of the accounts have been closed due to lack of adequate banking services.
The Digital India, a programme for digitally-empowered society, and the Smart Cities Mission aimed at developing 100 cities across the country have also not made significant progress. The Swach Bharat Mission has been hugely hyped but how much it has cleaned the country is for everyone to see. Almost similar has been the progress in ‘Make in India’, a programme to encourage domestic and global companies to manufacture their products in India.
Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Udaan Yojana and Startup India Action have all been launched with much fanfare, and noble intentions, but their progress has been tardy. The Government’s most ambitious healthcare plan, Aayushman Bharat, kicked off only recently and the necessary infrastructure for this massive scheme is still being laid.
Knowing that elections are due a few months from now, the power behind the ruling dispensation, perhaps, thought that the schemes weren’t enough to win. Something more potent was required. And it got one.
(The author is consulting Editor from New Delhi and can be reached at harrysnigi@gmail.com)
Comments are closed.