Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 3: A huge controversy has broken out between the Tamil Nadu ruling party DMK and the BJP over the “existence of Lord Ram” while a Congress leader has teased the saffron party that they should remain thankful to the Muslims without whom their existence would have been threatened.
Sparking a fresh controversy over Lord Ram, the Tamil Nadu transport minister SS Shiva Shankar has questioned the existence of the Hindu deity getting a sharp response from the state BJP chief K Annamalai advising the transport minister to take some lessons from his party colleague and law minister Thiru Raghupathy who had only recently held Lord Ram as the “ultimate champion of social justice.”
Mr Shiva Shankar sparked off the controversy while addressing an event to mark Chola emperor Rajendra Chola’s birth anniversary in Ariyalur. Claiming that there was “no historical evidence to prove Lord Ram’s existence,” he said, “We must celebrate the birthday anniversary of our great ruler Rajendra Chola, who made our land proud. We should celebrate his birthday; otherwise, people may be compelled to celebrate something that has no connection or evidence to them.”
“To show that Rajendra Chola lives on, there are ponds constructed by him, temples built by him, and his name is mentioned in scripts, sculptures, and other artefacts. We have history and evidence for it, but there is no evidence or historical record of Lord Ram’s existence. They call him (Ram) an avatar. An avatar can’t be born. It is being done to manipulate us, hide our history, and present another history as superior,” he said.
Mr Annamalai hit back at the DMK, saying in an X post, “DMK’s sudden obsession with Bhagwan Shri Ram is truly a sight to behold–who would’ve thought? Just last week, DMK’s Law Minister Thiru Raghupathy declared that Bhagwan Shri Ram was the ultimate champion of social justice, the pioneer of secularism, and the one who proclaimed equality for all.”
Training guns at Shiva Shankar, the BJP leader said, “Fast forward to today, and we have the scam-tainted DMK Transport Minister Thiru Shiva Shankar boldly asserting that Lord Ram never existed, claiming it’s all a ploy to erase the Cholan history.”
“Isn’t it fascinating how quickly DMK leaders’ memories fade? Weren’t they the same folks who opposed our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi for installing the Chola Dynasty Sengol in the new Parliament Complex?” Annamalai added.
“It’s almost comical that the DMK, a party that seems to think Tamil Nadu’s history started in 1967, has suddenly discovered a love for the nation’s rich culture and history. Perhaps it’s time for DMK Ministers Thiru Raghupathy and Thiru Shiva Shankar to sit down, debate, and reach a consensus on Lord Ram. We’re confident that Thiru Shiva Shankar could learn a thing or two about Bhagwan Shri Ram from his colleague,” he further added in the post on X.
In another development, the Congress MP Mohammad Jawed took a jibe at the BJP saying that saffron party wouldn’t have opened its account if it wasn’t for Muslims.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha he accused the BJP of coming to power by flaring anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit, anti-poor and anti-student sentiments, and claimed that if there were no Muslims in this country, the party that is ruling now could not have opened its account.
He urged the BJP to “save education” in the country.
“Just by removing the name of Mughals will not make any difference. Mughals were here for 330 years, they are not going to be removed just because you remove the name.” The Kishanganj MP said Muslims have as much intelligence as anybody else. “…we can contribute as much as anybody else. I appeal you should not discriminate.”
He accused the government of pursuing discriminatory policies. “It is ruling by flaring anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit, anti-poor, anti-student sentiments. If there were no Muslims in this country, the BJP would not have opened an account,” he said. Jawed also urged the education minister to restart the schemes for minorities students.