Since the Ram Mandir issue has now turned sombre for the BJP and seems not to be generating any political mileage, the saffron party is now creating and using other issues that can be used to attract the voters. However, the indifferent attitude of Indian voters towards Ram Mandir issue being an election tool indicates that today’s voters are rather interested in the development talks than any diverting topics.
In an appalling incident of blatant provocations, right-wing group Hindu Mahasabha’s National Secretary Pooja Shakun Pandey shot at the effigy of Mahatma Gandhi using a toy gun last week while celebrating ‘Martyr’s Day’. The viral videos show a red coloured liquid flowing from the effigy after she shoots it. Her supporters later shouted slogans against Gandhi and praised Nathuram Godse. However, many leaders from across the country condemned her grave misconduct and that led to her arrest.
Feeling sad about the disrespectful act of Pandey, NCP MLA Dilip Walse-Patil added, “Shooting the effigy of the Father of the Nation is not acceptable and we condemn the act and so does everyone. However, the BJP supporters are favouring the act to grab the attention of the Hindu voters as the election is approaching.”
Keeping the similar tone, Congress MLA Arif Naseem Khan asserted, “We condemn the act of Pooja Pandey; The National Security Agency must take action against her under the laws of anti-national activities. Since the BJP came to power, it has been supporting these kinds of activities. We got independence under the leadership of Gandhi and he is the Father of the Nation.”
“The crime Pandey has committed is heinous and dangerous for the harmony of the nation; many people have condemned and criticise her action. Along with Pooja Pandey, all of her companions should be punished too under the same law. Such acts have been reported in maximum numbers under the leadership of BJP,” Khan added.
The grave incident took place in Aligarh on January 30, a day which is observed as ‘Martyr’s Day’ across the country in order to commemorate the death anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Pandey’s husband Ashok and 12 others were also booked under the Section 147, 148, 149, 295A, and 153A for rioting, promoting enmity, and hurting the feelings of a section of society.
While in the meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 71st death anniversary on January 31, in a conversation with AV, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Dhansingh Suryavanshi said, “We support, encourage and praise Pooja Pandey for her brave action. We believe that she has done perfectly what was needed to keep the ideology of Godse alive. We condemn the Madhya Pradesh government for arresting Pandey. We are going to meet in Delhi on February 10 to voice our disappointment.”
“We have been following the ideology of revolutionary Godse and will continue to do so. We chose Narendra Modi as the Hindu Prime Minister and we want him to clear his stand on this issue as soon as possible,” Suryavanshi further added.
Moreover, the political analysts believe that the arrest of Pandey is going to benefit the BJP in disguise in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The buzz around the arrest seems to convince the BJP and right-wing ideology supporters as an attack on the right-winger’s freedom of expression by Congress.
The arrest has hurt the sentiments of millions of right-wing supporters throughout the nation who despise Gandhi and worship Godse. Moreover, it’s is also assumed that all these are the efforts by the saffron party are to highlight that the Congress does not respect the right-wing sentiments.
However, talking about the Aligarh incident, Karnataka Hindu Mahasabha General Secretary Dharmendra said, “I support Pooja Pandey. Neither Gandhi brought freedom to India nor did his non-violence ideology play any part. We chose a Hindu Prime Minister but he is changed now. PM Modi is no more a Hindu leader; even RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat agrees that Modi uses Hindu sentiments for the sake of vote banks.”
He went on saying, “We voted for Modi expecting he will eradicate corruption and build Ram Mandir; but now it seems that he is only concerned about his own benefits. Hindus are unsafe in their own country and they should secure their safety themselves.”
Few years ago, BJP leader Gopal Krishnan had said that Godse picked up the wrong target and he should have killed Nehru instead of Gandhi as Nehru was responsible for partition. Shashi Maharaj, the BJP MP stated that Godse was a pure patriot. However, former RSS Sarsanghchalak Rajendra Singh had said that Godse had the right intentions but his method was wrong. However, after the assassination of Gandhi, RSS was banned by the then Home Minister Sardar Patel, who in his letter to Syama Prasad Mukherjee of Hindu Mahasabha said that it was due to the hate spread by the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS that has caused the death of the Father of the Nation.
It’s high time our PM Narendra Modi must try to understand that why his beloved voters are turning against him and his party. He also needs to shut down the motormouths of its party members who are damaging the party’s prospects. It’s time when BJP should study the psychology of the voters and they need to speak about their merits than blaming Congress by using ill words for Gandhi, Nehru, and others.
BJP MLA Sandeep Sharma expressed, “What Godse and Pandey have done is a reflection of their ideologies. I assume that the incident must be an outcome of their anger around the partition of India and they believe that Gandhi was the reason behind it. Neither BJP nor Modi plays any role in this incident, but their name is being wrongfully dragged into all this.”
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