Indian democracy is world’s largest democracy and every person in this country constitutionally has right to speak his mind on any issue and put forward his point of view. Indian polity has seen many ups and downs and it is currently going through a delicate phase, where certificates are being issued to people on various parameters and the very idea of India is under threat.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and also a state where controversies and news go hand in hand. The most recent controversy happened in this state, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Singh Som from Sardhana constituency sparked a debate when he said that India’s pride and wonder ‘Taj Mahal’ is a blot on Indian culture and was built by invaders (comparing Mughals to traitors). Taj Mahal, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had recently dropped Taj Mahal from its tourism booklet in context of list of attractions. Adityanath just six months back was sworn in as the chief minister of the state, with BJP winning 325 seats out of 403 member assembly and promised development and said that he will do away with the appeasement politics. Is Sangeet Som doing this on his own? Is Som acting as a muppet? Is Som playing to the gallery? Is Som indulging in vote bank politics? The above questions only lead to one point that Som, who is a habitual offender when it comes to making controversial statements, fuelling communal hatred is not doing this on his own and there is a larger scheme of things behind this episode. Som, who had come to the limelight and made his name on the national arena during the highly charged up and polarising Muzaffarnagar riots, 2013 and the role of Som was at the epicentre of this riots.
India, the last time I checked was still a secular country and Taj Mahal is still being regarded as a jewel. How can you question self-styled Hindu Hriday Samrat Som, when his master and supreme leader of UP, the saffron clad priest Yogi Adityanath says India is in danger because cases of Love Jihad are rising and the social equilibrium is in danger. Yogi’s own constituency Gorakhpur, where he has been the MP for the last twenty years has recently seen many infants dying because lack of oxygen, will roam around the country and tour Gujarat, Kerala and will talk about protecting rights of Hindus and will propagate that India is in danger.
In 2014, India saw a revolution and Narendra Modi made promise of development, growth and jobs and said that he will get this country back on track and will not indulge in rhetoric and his famous motto was ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Over the last three and half years, we have heard many great speeches from our honourable Modiji, but on the ground we have achieved very little and against prime minister’s wishes we are indulging in nothing but rhetoric and in recent times PM Modi is playing the same old game of blaming Congress and saying it will take time for India’s real independence.
BJP calls itself as the party with a difference and if they really believe in that then there is no place for politicians like Som and he should be outrightly thrown out of the party. The irony is that Som will keep on harping on about the religion theory and people will continue to vote for him. Taj Mahal is India’s honour and many tourists might not know about India, but they will surely know about the wonderful structure called Taj Mahal. Politicians will keep on playing their divisive agenda and it is up to we the people to fight back and say India will always remain a secular country.
Yogi Adityanath is fast losing credibility as a leader and it is high time that top leaders from the BJP intervene and tell him that to keep people like Som in check because Som is not only making fool of himself, but also of India. Narendra Modi has to take the rein and say that Indian democracy is supreme and effort to undermine and tarnish India’s image will not be tolerated and the buck stops with Narendra Modi about safeguarding our country’s ethos and culture.
