New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh Congress has a brand new technique to counter the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh this election yr — a pujari prakosht or priest cell.
Congress leaders advised ThePrint that the cell, arrange in July-August final yr, would assist them counter the BJP’s allegations that the occasion engages in appeasement politics in direction of spiritual minorities. The pujari cell can even allow the Congress to construct some political cache amongst Hindu monks and their followers in MP, they added.
The cell has gained explicit significance for the reason that MP Congress’s Dharam Samvad, or spiritual convention, Sunday. Held on the state Congress headquarters in Bhopal, the occasion, in accordance with its organisers, noticed as many as 1,600 monks from varied temples and mutts in attendance.
Talking to ThePrint, Okay.Okay. Mishra, the media head of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), advised ThePrint that the aim of such a convention was two-fold.
“First, we wished to inform the BJP that faith is the cornerstone of our religion as properly. Second, they hold saying that we’re doing appeasement politics. That isn’t true. We’re simply as dedicated in direction of our spiritual beliefs,” Mishra mentioned, including that every one potential legislator candidates within the state have been suggested to organise such conferences of their areas.
J.P. Dhanopia, the MP Congress vice-president and the chief in control of all its cells, denied that the Dharam Samvad was a “vote-gathering train”, as a substitute claiming that the occasion was solely attempting to deal with the grievances of monks.
“The pujaris and temple organisations are discontented with the BJP. Their land has been encroached upon, they don’t have any property of their very own, they’ve been diminished to dwelling a hand-to-mouth existence,” Dhanopia claimed.
“The BJP solely needs to painting that they’re spiritual and converse of faith to get votes. However the grievances of the monks present us that they don’t do something to advertise faith or spiritual values,” he added.
The event comes just a few months earlier than meeting elections within the state.
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‘Getting Hindu votes’
In accordance with Shiv Narayan Sharma, the president of the MP Congress pujari prakosht and a priest at a temple in Ujjain, the cell was shaped in July-August final yr and consists of pujaris or monks who, like himself, at the moment serve in temples.
There’s solely a state-level cell at current — Sharma advised ThePrint that the occasion remains to be appointing heads for various districts.
Talking on the Dharam Samvad convention Sunday, MPCC president and former chief minister of the state Kamal Nath mentioned that the BJP had not taken the “theka” (contract) to be the only consultant of the “bhagwa” (saffron).
“Each time the Congress organises a non secular programme or a Congress chief participates in any such occasion, the BJP will get rattled,” Nath mentioned on the occasion, additionally reminding the assembled monks that it was his authorities that had began an honorarium for them.
Regardless of the Congress’s denial that the cell is an try at capturing Hindu votes, nevertheless, occasion sources from MP say that it’s a strategic transfer, particularly given the affect that native monks wield on the Hindus of their areas.
“For instance, if the pujari within the native temple is proud of the Congress, he’ll unfold the message to these coming into the temple each day,” a Congress functionary mentioned. “If the BJP is just not fulfilling their calls for, then it’s a superb alternative to transform them (to the Congress).”
One other Congress functionary additionally mentioned it was a manner of countering the RSS.
“Clergymen are additionally sad with the politicisation of faith that’s occurring due to the shut relationship of the BJP and RSS. Due to this political relationship, they’re not with the ability to elevate their spiritual calls for. We’re attempting to capitalise on that,” the functionary advised ThePrint.
Dhanopia additionally mentioned that the monks within the Congress cell got here from all castes.
“There are Vaishnavas, monks from decrease castes, in addition to tribal monks. Our prakosht contains all of them,” he mentioned.
‘BJP govt went again on guarantees to monks’
Shiv Narayan Sharma mentioned that he had nothing to do with the Congress till he was appointed because the president of the pujari prakosht final October.
It was he who had approached Nath final yr for assist after the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP authorities within the state “went again” on its promise to pujaris, he advised ThePrint.
“(Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan had promised us at Ujjain’s Mahakal that we (monks) could be given management of the land we’ve obtained as inaam (reward) from the temples. We had three meals on the CM’s home and have been promised assist there as properly,” he claimed.
He additional mentioned: “After exhausting our choices, we went to Kamal Nath ji final yr and he mentioned that he’ll open a cell for us and that when he turns into CM, he’ll fulfill our calls for.”
The primary of the calls for is that the management of temples ought to be given again to monks. Since 1974, the management of a number of temples has been vested in district magistrates by means of a state legislation.
The second demand is that reward land ought to be transferred to them in accordance with the legal guidelines of kinship.
“Our ancestors have been connected to some temples for over 400 years. Our households got small items of land on the time by the kings who operated the temple,” Sharma mentioned. “However after a whole bunch of years, these lands at the moment are managed by the federal government and should not handed right down to us. This implies we’re left with nothing after a whole bunch of years of service.”
Kamal Nath & ‘Hindu push’
The previous couple of months have seen the Congress seemingly pursue the Hindu agenda, with Kamal Nath within the lead.
The previous chief minister has, over the previous couple of years, fastidiously cultivated a picture as a Hanuman bhakt (devotee).
In 2018 — simply earlier than the final meeting election — Nath constructed a 101-foot-tall Hanuman statue in his constituency, Chhindwara. An Financial Instances report quoted locals as saying he’s additionally constructed various temples within the space.
In 2022, he courted controversy after he lower a four-tier temple-shaped cake that includes Lord Hanuman’s portrait on his birthday.
In February this yr, Nath met self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri at his Bageshwar Dham in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district. Shastri brazenly advocates for a Hindu Rashtra.
When requested about his go to, the previous MP chief minister was evasive. “India is run by its Structure, which was drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he had mentioned then.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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