BJP Releases Cheat Sheet, Promises to Build Ram Temple
Although a conflict has been persisting between Hindus and Muslims of India about the construction of Ram temple, BJP has made the promise to entice Hindu voters.
By Rakesh Raman
While an election manifesto in India is a kind of cheat sheet to make false promises and hoodwink the gullible voters, BJP today released its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely failed on all fronts during its tenure of 5 years, but the party has made a slew of new promises to woo the voters.
Today, rampant corruption, extreme lawlessness, and unprecedented unemployment are disturbing the 1.3 billion people of India. But instead of addressing these crucial issues, BJP has promised to make a temple of a fictional character Lord Ram (believed to be a Hindu God) in Ayodhya.
The party said in its manifesto that it will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Indian Constitution to facilitate the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
While a conflict has been persisting between Hindus and Muslims of India about the construction of Ram temple, BJP has made the promise to entice Hindu voters who are in majority in India.
Modi and BJP also have promised to make India a Hindu Rashtra (a nation only for people who belong to the Hindu religion). And in the current Modi rule, all attempts are being made to persecute Muslims in India.
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As Modi won the 2014 election by exploiting the religious sentiment of Hindu voters (almost 80% of people in India are Hindus), he is actually a communal politician. In order to get the Hindu voters, he can even resort to violence against minority communities.
Modi, who was an accused in the Gujarat riots of 2002 in which nearly 2,000 Muslims were murdered, won the Lok Sabha election on the promise that he will make India a Hindu Rashtra where local Muslims will not be treated as true Indians.
Most Hindu voters bit the bait and voted for Modi as a religious demagogue rather than a wise leader. The dilemma began for Indian people as soon as Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014 because he is not trained to manage any field that requires professional competence.
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In the 2002 Gujarat riots, while thousands of Muslims were killed, there were incidents of rape, robbery, and widespread destruction of property affecting Muslims.
It was alleged that the killings were executed at the behest of Modi who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Although Indian courts have almost exonerated Modi in this case, most Muslims in India still believe that Modi was responsible for Gujarat massacre. The Supreme Court of India has decided to reopen the Gujarat riots case.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the attacks against Muslims in Gujarat were actively supported by state government officials and the police. Police told Muslims, “We don’t have any orders to save you.”
As a result, the U.S. administration denied visa to Modi in view of the allegations of human rights violations against him in the 2002 incidents of riots and carnage. But now as he has become the PM of India, Modi is visiting the U.S. frequently because now he enjoys political immunity.
During his visit in India in 2015, the U.S. President Barack Obama did not mince his words when he expressed his concern over the communal violence and religious hatred in the country under Modi’s leadership. He also suggested that the Indian government must ensure religious freedom for all its citizens.
While all the odds are stacked against Modi and his government, BJP has released the election manifesto to hide its failures and make more false promises. If the electronic voting machines (EVMs) did not favor BJP in the Lok Sabha election, it will be almost impossible for BJP to win.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
