KARIMNAGAR: While it is no surprise that the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan would find a prominent place in the meetings and events of the BJP, which claims the construction of the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya as one of its achievements, even Congress and BRS leaders are now not shying away from invoking Lord Rama’s name at their programmes either.
Represented by BJP national general secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency has observed a war of words over the issue among top leaders of the three main political parties. Political analysts observed that many opposition leaders had earlier said that the saffron party had weaponised the slogan to silence anyone questioning the Union government, but they have now resorted to reasserting their Hindu credentials.
Recently, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and BRS working president KT Rama Rao had attacked the BJP alleging that it was using the name of Lord Rama and turning politics into a religious battlefield. They said that Lord Rama belongs to everyone and not just the BJP.
Since February, Prabhakar has said that the BJP has “desperately” resorted to seeking votes by using the name of Lord Rama and distributing portraits during door-to-door campaigns. Earlier the minister had claimed that the saffron party was cheating people by distributing local rice by claiming it was akshintalu (sacred rice) from the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
This created a huge uproar in the local political scenario, with Congress and BJP leaders making counter-allegations against each other. Meanwhile, Prabhakar has maintained that he is also a devotee of Lord Rama.
Recently, Sircilla MLA Rama Rao, while asking the BJP to stop playing ‘religion politics’, said that Lord Rama belonged to everyone. In a meeting on Sunday, he asserted that even the BRS could adopt the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan.
Meanwhile, Sanjay, in a presser on Monday, said that the BJP considers Lord Rama as its guiding force. “However, for votes, the BRS and Congress are now claiming that they are devotees of Lord Rama,” he quipped.
While BJP followers and many strategists believe that the construction of the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya could help the saffron party get past its goal of 400 seats, political analysts believe that the other parties are now turning to religion to cash in on the popular sentiment.