Speaker146;s Ram mela

It's only 10 years since Babri Masjid destruction but Lord Ram8217;s political vanvas is over. Narendra Modi is in power riding on His name...

It8217;s only 10 years since Babri Masjid destruction but Lord Ram8217;s political vanvas is over. Narendra Modi is in power riding on His name, Rajasthan8217;s Governor Anshuman Singh just held a Ram Katha recital, the Congress has adopted Hinduism against Hindutva and, in Chhattisgarh, Speaker and party leader Rajinder Prasad Shukla has just announced a five-day virat Ramayan mela.

Releasing details on Thursday of the proposed mela by Sri Tulsi Manas Pratishthan that he himself leads, Shukla said there was a difference between what he thought of Lord Ram and how the BJP used Him for electoral gains. 8216;8216;For me, my Ram is not a polling agent,8217;8217; he claimed, 8216;8216;and he will not work for me in the polls.8217;8217;

However, Shukla8217;s guest list might. Prominent participants include Swami Sarupanand, Baba Kalyan Dass, Swami Rajeshwarnand Saraswati, Pandit Maythlisharan and Mandakini Ramkinkar. While the Congress leader insists the event starting Jan 15 is non-political, CM Ajit Jogi, Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahay and Congress ministers Satya Narain Sharma, Amitesh Shukla, Dhanendra Sahu and PCC leader Inder Chand Jain are invited.

Shukla dismissed any suggestions that the mela could be an answer to the BJP8217;s Hindutva and asserted it was just a coincidence that it was being held in an election year.

The Congress leader said he wasn8217;t moved by material considerations: 8216;8216;Let us first talk about inequalities in society and remove these by understanding Lord Ram not as God but in the form of human values8230;When you discover Ram in your heart, you will not talk about building a temple.8217;8217;

Added Shukla: 8216;8216;The mela is open to all. Hindus, Muslims and even the BJP MLA and ex-minister Leelaram Bhojwani will be joining us.8217;8217; Preparations are on at Rajnandgaon, 70 km from Raipur, where the organisers have taken land from the administration to develop a Ramayan dham abode. Posters, booklets and pamphlets are in circulation, highlighting the 8216;8216;significance8217;8217; of the mela and telling people they are forgetting basic human values on which Lord Ram never compromised, even preferring vanvas over rajsatta.

Major highlights of the virat mela include interpretation of Tulsi Das8217;s Ramayan. Over 50 Ram mandalis from all over the state are coming and will get three days for shows. 8216;8216;We will use the mela for social change in the land where Lord Ram spent 12 years of his exile,8217;8217; Shukla asserted.