(MS Shanker)
Senior Congress leader Salman Khan’s ‘mischievous’ comparison of his leader Rahul Gandhi to ‘Bhagwan’ Shri Ram has yet again stirred an unwarranted controversy. In making this statement, he did a Mani Shankar Aiyar who in the 2019 campaign, referred to PM Modi as “neech” much to the discomfiture of Congressmen and anger of voters across India. But the sense of arrogance and entitlement that goes with the Congress aristocracy among whom one can count Salman Khurshid, has not yet faded.
Salman Khurshid, realising that his comparison of Rahul Gandhi to Lord Shri Ram was not only outrageous but electorally harmful to the Congress, quickly tried to tweak his statement. He said that he did not say that Rahul Gandhi could be compared to Lord Shri Ram because no one can be compared to God, but that he was walking in the path shown by Shri Ram. Salman Khursheed alone knows what he means by saying that Rahul Gandhi was following the path shown by Lord Shri Ram. How was he doing this? What did the corrupt Congress dynast do to give any one the impression that he was walking in the path shown to the World by Lord Shri Ram?
For the Hindus, Lord Ram is an “Adipurush’ and as an avatar of Lord Vishnu, a symbol of the ideal human being in all respects. This was evident from the way Hindus and their political representatives fought to reclaim their most adored deity Ram’s birthplace at Ayodhya. Utmost restraint and their strong belief in the Indian judiciary have helped them fulfil their long-cherished dream to have a massive temple at the birth place of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya.
The Congress’s hatred towards Hindus and appeasement of the minority Muslims is for the people to see for themselves since independence. The fact that the Congress party decided to appeal to the Supreme Court to put on hold the final verdict of Ayodhya, just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is also well known. By holding such venom against the very existence of Shri Ram, how could the Congress, now shamelessly compare their leader, Rahul Gandhi, to Lord Ram? What surprises many was Khurshid’s bizarre justification, too. “Wearing a T-shirt in bones cracking cold to take part in the Bharat Jodo walkathon is nothing short of a “Superhuman” act.
It is like a “yogi doing tapasya’ and can be compared to Lord Ram. He made these remarks while welcoming the walkathon’s entry into his native Uttar Pradesh. This kicked up a controversy with BJP leaders taking serious objection to Khurshid’s unwarranted comparison. They term it not only an insult to Lord Ram but also hurting the sentiment of the majority Hindus faith. Realising that his attempts at flattery had gone too far in the wrong direction, and could actually damage his party‘s electoral prospects Salman Khursheed went about clarifying his statement.
Salman Khurshid, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress worthies forget that it was the Congress which in the past had argued and also filed affidavits in court that Lord Ram doesn’t exist and is only a myth.
For example in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of India on the Sethusamudram project in 2007, the Congress-led UPA government questioned the existence of Lord Ram and said he is a mere mythical character. “…contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitamanas by Tulsidas and other mythological texts… cannot be said to be a historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters, or the occurrence of the events, depicted therein.” And, the statement was given by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on behalf of the Union Government. In simple terms, the statement of the Congress-led UPA government says that Lord Ram and other Hindu gods are not real.
Many felt that though the government has every right to defend the Sethusamudram shipping canal project it should be done without hurting the sentiments of millions of Hindus around the world. They argued that the affidavit should have concentrated on the Ram Sethu or Adam’s bridge and not on the beliefs of Hindus. Lord Ram is not a mythological character for Hindus instead he plays a vital role in the way of life of Hindus.
Several countries around the world witnessed large-scale riots over a cartoon badly depicting a Prophet. Thanks to the Hindus, who to a large extent have not taken to religious fundamentalism; there was peace in India after such a blasphemous statement.
But, an American Science Channel and NASA images have proved that Ram Sethu is man-made. Doesn’t this prove Congress is anti-Hindu and Lord Ram is real? Before that, another Congress leader Kumar Ketkar denied the historical existence of Shri Ram and cast aspersions about the Hindu God being a creation of literature. “Ram exists because of Ramayan. However, a conclusion is yet to be reached on whether Ram is the creation of history or literature. Valmiki wrote a great epic and its impact was felt both in India and abroad. But, I don’t know if he existed in history, “ was his argument.
That is the argument of a decaying party like Congress which is now conveniently choosing to compare Rahul Gandhi with Lord Ram, who doesn’t exist, according to them. More so when people are well aware of Rahul Gandhi’s characteristics, including his inconsistencies on serious social and political issues or understanding of Indian history, its culture, and ethos, and his loose comments on a variety of national issues.
Against that backdrop, the ruling BJP’s decision to ridicule the senior Congress leader’s comparison appears justified. Or else, many feel, why give such importance to a leader, whom many Indians don’t take him seriously, or his senseless comments – either during his interaction with the college students in India and overseas or in news conferences and public meetings? Such videos of Rahul Gandhi are going viral and trending on the social media platform, which is an undeniable fact.
The party’s unrelenting hatred towards Hindus has only strengthened them to polarize in favor of the BJP. Added to that, some of their party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi’s dramas like ‘I am the real janeudhar Brahmin’ or temple hopping that too before every election had also isolated Muslims from their vote bank. As a result, the party which maintained consistency in every election by polling over 36-38 percent votes is fast dropping to single digits. The party, barring the recent victory in Himachal Pradesh, had been losing state after state. Now, it is reduced to yet another regional party, struggling to survive. In that context, political observers are of the firm view that instead of restraining themselves from targeting the majority Hindu faith, the decaying party should focus on other burning issues to corner the mighty BJP, which is fast consolidating its position as the strongest party ever the country had since independence.
Today, it has emerged as an 18-crore-member party and is considered to be the biggest political party in the world. If a level-headed mature politician like Salman Khursheed joins the brigade of motor-mouths within the party, his party (Congress) muktBharat may become a reality sooner than later – yes, 2024.
