RSS implements its evil designs in name of God

"Why do you unnecessarily raise this issue and strengthen their hands?" was the question posed to me by a senior journalist friend, while we were sitting for a TV debate on the Ram Temple issue. I had already made it clear that by going for the Shilanyas at Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had violated the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. A number of Indians in the country and abroad rang me up and sought clarification about my statement. Vexed with the continuous calls, I had to put my phone in silent mode.

Modi's game plan is to use Ram and Ram's arrow for his political gains. All the while, the Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) is threatening minorities and cowing them down into submission by all possible means. Their aim is to corner secular parties into an uncomfortable position and thus block their voice on economic problems facing the country. Leaders like Priyanka Gandhi were driven into self-defense and issue statements favourable to their strategy.

If August 15 is the day we had attained Independence, August 5 will hereafter be noted as the day when the Indian Constitution is enchained. Whichever political formation is in power, it has to function within the purview of the Constitution. But this is not being adhered to the present ruling dispensation, willfully. By winning a majority, Narendra Modi may claim that 137 crore Indians wish that he should rule this nation. That does not imply that his party should paint all the people of this country in saffron colour. This is how the RSS is driving events to suit their agenda. This was not the stated aim of the BJP when it had won power. The RSS had engineered Modi to take sides and go for the Shilanyas. There was no mention of the Temple Construction Trust. When the Balaji Temple in Hyderabad was funded by the Birlas, it was called not by the name of God, but as Birla Mandir. Many people are still unsure which deity is enshrined at the Hyderabad temple. Now Modi will be the deity by whose name the Ayodhya Temple will be popular. 'One arrow, one wife, one leader and one country' is the aim of the RSS and it had embarked up on implementing their agenda right from 2014. Abrogation of Article 370, dismantling Jammu and Kashmir, communal domination, Citizenship Amendment… these successive strategies are aimed at establishing a single person dictatorship. The values enshrined in our Constitution such as democracy, secularism, egalitarianism - all these are being buried deep. Where all this will lead to does not require any intelligent guess. It can only end up with the dismantling the very idea of Independent and tolerant India.

The fact that erasing goodwill and peace between communities will lead to disaster. They many succeed in giving a false sense of security to the majority community by crushing the minorities, but they should realise that they are playing with fire. When the constitutional justice is denied, violence will be the recourse. Majoritarianism and minoritarianism cannot be equated to ruling and opposition politics. The ruling and opposition political formations are vital for the healthy functioning of a democracy. Destabilising, sidelining and destroying the opposition might give temporary benefits, but we should not forget the fact that the RSS is driving the country to disaster with its agenda. Healthy political tactics are not unusual in a democracy. But these devious methods will corrode not only politics, but the socio-cultural life also and its adverse impact on the economy also cannot be ignored. And the Ayodhya affair had set the ignition. This two-pronged attack on democracy and societal goodwill will have lasting adverse impact. But unfortunately, the BJP-RSS team is running at breakneck speed to implement their devious communal agenda.

Many intellectuals express worry that while the secular opposition had become silent, the Communists are being ignored. This is true to a large extent. 18 years ago, LK Advani, with his Rath Yatra and the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya was its planned culmination. Comrade C Rajeswara Rao, the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), the leader of Telangana Armed Struggle and anti-feudal struggles had gone to Ayodhya with 10,000 Red Shirt Volunteers. They declared that the demolition can take place only over their dead bodies. Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh then. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the then Chief Minister of Bihar had blocked the way for the RSS rally.

But today, Mamata Banerji and Kejriwal had raised white flags, confining themselves to issuing press statements. The Godi media is trying to suppress dissenting voices. The protests raised by Communists is being distorted and projected in bad light by the Godi media which is under RSS control. They are resorting to terror, blackmailing and open threats. Many liberals, on sensing the danger of being shown in poor light are tight lipped. Whether you are heard and noticed or not, we should resist and raise our dissenting voice. We should continue to resist. Only by doing this, we can ensure a better future for the people of our country.

(The writer is national secretary, Communist Party of India. Views expressed are personal)