Ayodhya: It’s a “matter of pride” to attend the pran pratishtha at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and ideology doesn’t mean that one should abandon religion, Nirmal Khatri — the only Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh who is expected to attend Monday’s ceremony — has said.
The two-term Congress MP from Faizabad will be attending the consecration ceremony along with his wife.
In an exclusive interview with ThePrint, Khatri said that apart from him, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh — former HP chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s son — would also be coming. He added that no one in the party had said anything to him regarding not attending the ceremony.
“I am a local, so naturally it is convenient for me. As a local, I feel that in these functions, regardless of the community and religion, and considering I have represented this area, I should participate in it,” the former UP Congress chief told ThePrint.
Moreover, “It is a matter of pride for me that Ayodhya, which is a dharm nagri, is where (the event) going to take place, and so I felt that it is right for me to attend,” he said. “I have no hesitation in accepting that, after the Supreme Court verdict, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has got a number of development works done here, and I appreciate the work as a resident of Ayodhya.”
According to Khatri, “ideology doesn’t mean that we leave our religion. The Hindi word dharm nirpeksh, which is used for secularism, is an incorrect interpretation.
“What I think is that we should keep the same respect towards all religions. We should not force our religion on anyone. But this doesn’t at all mean that we should leave our religion,” he asserted.
He also wondered about secular parties not reaching out on the ground to spread their ideology.
“If there is an organisation that is able to connect people on a particular ideology, and through that is becoming stronger as an organisation and is supporting a single party, and that party is becoming strong due to that support — then what did all these regional and national parties, which were in power at different points of time, do to counter that ideology? They did nothing. And because they did nothing, that ideology was able to flourish,” he said.
The Congress leader said he would remain with the party despite the rumours (about him quitting the party) that are being spread. “All these are misunderstandings. What I am, and what my ideology and character are, and how much I love the Congress, all that is quite apparent,” he said.
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BJP’s ‘mega events’
Days after his decision to attend the consecration ceremony raised eyebrows, Khatri said, “The development in Ayodhya had in fact started during the time of the Congress, and a number of works were done when the Congress was in power. The BJP started development work only after the verdict of the Supreme Court. The Ram ki Paidi, from where all media channels are doing their shows and debates, was constructed by the Congress”.
Talking about the BJP, Khatri said the party has mastered the art of converting everything into a “mega event”.
“All Modiji‘s events and programmes become mega events. Wo shauchalay ka bhi ho toh bhi bohat badaa event hoga. Aur ye toh mandir ka hai. (Even if it were a toilet, it would be a mega event, and in this case, it is a temple).”
‘UP Congress needs an overhaul’
The former UP Congress chief also hit out at senior leaders of the party in the state.
“Congress ki aadat kharab ho gayi hai (Congress has developed a bad habit). Since Indira Gandhi’s time, leaders of Uttar Pradesh always felt that ‘upar se taakat milegi’ (will get strength from above), and using that strength we all would become strong and we wouldn’t have to do anything,”
“In Madhya Pradesh politics, we had different sections and different leaders representing different regions, such as Arjun Singh, Digvijaya Singh, Scindiaji (Jyotiraditya Scindia). They all were leaders in their respective areas. But this is not the case in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
According to him, around 45 leaders fall under the category of senior leaders in the Uttar Pradesh Congress but can’t even be called “district-level” leaders.
“No one will dare say this, but I have no qualms in saying that these so-called leaders are not even leaders of their districts. Our high command should request them to look at their districts and they should focus on that rather than being state leaders. The high command should also not give them the degree of being state leaders,” he added.
“The problem is that they have spoiled themselves as they could only rely on the Centre (when the Congress was in power). And the Congress is facing the repercussions of that today. Neither is the central leadership at fault nor are the ground-level workers. The state leaders are at fault. They have destroyed the Congress in UP,” he claimed.
According to Khatri, the UP Congress needs an overhaul. He questioned the politics of ‘event versus event’ — alluding to party leaders’ visit to Ayodhya on Makar Sankranti last Monday, where they took a dip in the Saryu river and offered prayers at both Hanumangarhi and the makeshift Ram temple.
“The focus that should be given to strengthening the organisation at the ground level has not happened in Uttar Pradesh Congress. We are running towards events. If Modi and the BJP are doing this event, then we can counter it with another event. However, we can’t counter them through events. We have to strengthen our hands on the ground,” he said.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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