‘No politics in Ram Lalla’s name’: Sanjay Raut on Mohan Bhagwat's ‘true independence’ remark

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said Bharat (India) got its “true independence” on the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony day.

Rashtriya Swayamsevk Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's remark that Bharat (India) got its “true independence” on the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony day, drew a sharp retort from Shiv Sena (UBT) politician Sanjay Raut, who demanded that Bhagwat avoid doing “politics” in Lord Ram's name.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut (File photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT)

“What Mohan Bhagwat has said is wrong because ‘Ram Lalla’ has been in this nation for lakhs of years. We have carried out movements for Ram Lalla earlier and we will keep at it. He should not do politics in the name of Ram Lalla,” Sanjay Raut told news agency ANI.

Further, Raut noted that the “Pran Pratishtha” (consecration) ceremony was the nation's “pride,” and saw “contributions from everyone.”

“While the RSS chief is definitely a ‘respected’ person, he is not the architect of the Constitution. He doesn't make the law and can't change it,” the Rajya Sabha member added.

What did Mohan Bhagwat say?

“After India got political independence from the British on August 15, 1947, a written Constitution was made according to the path shown by that specific vision, which comes out of the 'self' of the country, but the document was not run according to the spirit of the vision at that time,” the RSS chief said on Monday.

“The date should be celebrated as ‘Pratishtha Dwadashi’ as the true independence of Bharat,” he added.

According to the Hindu calendar, the consecration of the Ram Temple took place on “Dwadashi” of “Shukla Paksha” of the Paush month last year. The date in the Gregorian calendar was January 22, 2024. This year, the Paush Shukla Paksha Dwadashi fell on January 11.