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BJP drafts plan to offer Ram temple pilgrimages
The BJP on Tuesday held a meeting at its headquarters to oversee the process of taking devotees to Ayodhya
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun to draft plans for organising pilgrimages to Ayodhya from across the country and host programmes to celebrate the January 22 inauguration of the Ram Temple, an event that was on the party’s election manifesto for decades, and will be used to burnish its ideological commitment, leaders aware of the details said on Tuesday.
Though the development agenda has become the mainstay of the BJP’s election campaigns, the party has ensured that it is not seen to be distancing itself from core ideological issues such as the reclamation of temples, implementation of the uniform civil code, and a ban on cow slaughter, said the leaders quoted above.
According to people aware of the details, though the party wants the inauguration and the pilgrimage to be perceived from a largely religious and cultural point of view, it will not shy away from taking credit for spearheading the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign; it will push the narrative that the promise of a grand temple was fulfilled during the BJP’s rule. According to a person aware of the details, it has been decided the party’s flag will not be used while ferrying the devotees.
“There is no denying that the BJP was committed to the cause of the temple. When (LK) Advani began the Rath Yatra, he faced opposition, criticism and was even arrested. Hundreds of kar sevaks were injured and several killed when the Samajwadi Party government ordered bullets to be fired...but we stood steadfast, having sworn Kasam Ram ki khatein hain, mandir wahin banayenge(we swear in the name of Ram, temple will be constructed at the site),” said a senior party leader, requesting anonymity.
The party, he said, will go to the 2024 polls, riding high on having fulfilled two of the three key ideological promises, the construction of the temple and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. As for the third, the implementation of UCC, the process has begun in some BJP-ruled states including Uttarakhand, this leader said.
To leverage the inauguration of the temple ahead of the polls, the party on Tuesday held a meeting at the BJP headquarters to oversee the process of taking devotees to Ayodhya. The meeting was chaired by party president JP Nadda and attended by senior party functionaries and ministers, including railway minister Ashwani Vaishnaw.
“BJP workers have been asked to help devotees with information about how to travel to Ayodhya after January 22. They will set up help desks at the booth level; connect devotees to the party workers in Ayodhya in case of an emergency and assist wherever possible,” said a second party functionary, requesting anonymity.
The party will carry out a cleanliness drive in Ayodhya from January 14 to 27; on the day of the consecration of the idol, families across the country will be encouraged to light the Ram Jyoti or a cluster of five lamps and organise provisions for the stay of 50,000 devotees who are expected to visit the temple every day.
“Diwali-like festivities will be organised across the country. A booklet about the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, listing the details of the journey, and the leaders who fought for the temple will be distributed,” said the second functionary.
Live telecast of the consecreation on giant screens in public and community spaces will be organised for devotees who cannot travel to Ayodhya. “We will get Ayodhya Dham to them...” the second functionary said.
The BJP leadership also held separate meetings on Tuesday to oversee the electoral preparation and formed a committee to oversee joining ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“There is little time left for the elections, and we expect the schedule to be announced soon after the annual budget is presented on February 1. So, there will be a beeline of people wanting to join, including some from other parties. These names will be vetted by a central committee and similar committees at the state level,” said the second functionary.
A committee which includes Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Anurag Thakur, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP’s organisational general secretary BL Santhosh has been set up to oversee leaders joining the party at the central level.
