?Only a Congress PM can get the temple built,? says CP Joshi; Will Rahul Gandhi clear his stand on Sri Ram Mandir now?

Congress leader CP Joshi said that if any government could deliver on the promise of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, it would be under a Congress Prime Minister. Joshi was quick to add that, “It was Rajiv Gandhi who opened the lock of the Babri Masjid premise and allowed religious rites inside the disputed structure. Only a Congress PM can get the temple built.”

On the other hand, in the past few days, Congress leader Kamal Nath has been heard saying three related things. He said to the Muslim leaders: 1. We will take care of RSS people after elections; 2. If 90% of votes are not polled on Muslim dominated booths, it will be a big loss; 3. Don’t bother about the criminal cases, winnability is important. Kamal Nath whose image shines Madhya Pradesh Assembly election Vachan Patra while addressing a meeting of Muslims said, “They (RSS) will instigate you. We will deal with them later. But till the day of elections, you will have to tolerate them.” It is clearer than ever before that Rahul Gandhi-led Congress is trying to project itself ‘Hindu’ externally, but they are ‘non-Hindus’ and ‘anti-Hindus’ internally.

Not to forget that in early November, Congress’ senior leader Shashi Tharoor said no Hindu text condones the use of violence to get one’s way, and scriptures say people should build Ram in their hearts. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Tharoor was reported as saying that, “In fact, if anything, there is a scripture that says build Ram in your heart. And if Ram is built in your heart, it should little matter where else he is or he is not, because he is everywhere.” But the recently identified ‘Hindu’ after his dull book, Why I am a Hindu, Tharoor didn’t feel it necessary to answer that if Sri Ram is everywhere, why he cannot be there in the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi?

How does one figure out this kind of contradiction in a political party? More importantly, a political party which is dynastic, one-family ruled, and which follows the dictates from above!

One can figure out the reason by scratching the past a little. Congress has been invoking the Hindu issues, whenever it has faced reversals in the electoral politics.

Congress and ‘Soft Hindutva’

The Congress flip-flops regarding the Hindu issues, whenever they experience reversals in the electoral politics has been termed as ‘Soft Hindutva’. Indira Gandhi onwards, this has been an on and off characteristic of the Congress politics.

However, in August this year, in an interaction with editors in Hyderabad, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he did not agree that he was embracing soft Hindutva to appease the majority community. “I don’t believe in any kind of Hindutva, soft or hardcore,” he said. Gandhi said there was nothing wrong in his meeting religious leaders and visiting religious places.

Now, again for a political party where people are showing a ‘muddle head’ characteristic, whom to believe and who do not, is a big serious question! Rahul Gandhi says that he doesn’t believe in any Hindutva. However, on the other hand, in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election, his party’s manifesto has picked up all the Hindutva issues. Starting from establishment of ‘Maa Narmada Trust’, a new ‘Religion and Spiritual Department’, promotion of Sanskrit, retrieval and rejuvenation of all the rivers mentioned inSastras, salary increment to pujaris, and extension of Sri Ram Van Path Gaman from Chitrakoot to the border of the State, all the issues are there in the Vachan Patra of the Congress party. There are also plans to begin commercial production of cow urine and cow dung in gaushalas.