Its workers dressed as Ram and Sita, Congress accuses BJP-ruled civic body of cancelling Ramlila events in Kota

Rakhi Gautam, district president of Kota Mahila Congress, said that for over a decade, the municipal corporation has been funding Ramlila events at the six locations.

“For the last 10 years Ramlila was organised beautifully at six different places in Kota apart from Dussehra Ground. But the BJP has announced that this year, Ramlila will be organised only at Dussehra Ground and that it won’t fund any other event,” Rakhi Gautam, district president of Kota Mahila Congress, said.

On his part, Kota mayor Rajiv Bharti refused to confirm the allegations, saying only that he had not received a formal order from the corporation’s Mela Samiti – the committee empowered to take such decisions.

“This is the decision taken by the Mela Samiti of the corporation and they will tell you better,” he said. “Rameela will be organised on October 3, so there is still time and we will look into this.”

Calls to Vivek Rajwanshi, the president of the civic body’s Mela Samiti Kota, went unanswered.

Meanwhile, the Congress held a meeting Wednesday with Hindu groups and warned of escalating their protests if the alleged decision is not reversed.

At the protest site outside, the Rajasthan Pradesh Mahila Congress’s protest tableau featured Hindu gods Ram and Lakshman with  placards that read: “Jai Shri Ram for elections, who will remember Ram after elections”. It was referring to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, around which the BJP had built much of its campaign during the parliamentary polls this year.

“The government came to power in the name of Ram and after coming to power, it has forgotten Ram,” said Gautam.