'Attempt to conduct Ram temple ceremony will hurt PM Modi': Mani Shankar Aiyar
Kozhikode, Jan 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attempt to "personally conduct the consecration ceremony" at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will prove costly given the disapproval of the four shankaracharyas who have refused to attend the ceremony, said Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar.
The former Union minister said it is beginning to show who is the "real Hindu" -- one who knows the difference between 'Hinduism' and 'Hindutva'.
"Modi's attempt at being personally present and personally conducting the religious ceremony has received such strong disapproval from the four accepted seers of the Hindu religion, who constitute what you may call the pontiffs of the Hindu religion, that it is all going to turn back on him. It will bite back," said Aiyar at the ongoing seventh edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) on Friday.
Uttarakhand's Jyotir Mutt head Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has said that none of the four shankaracharyas will attend the event in Ayodhya as the consecration ceremony will take place before construction of the temple is completed, making it "against the shastras".
Aiyar said while Hinduism is the most ancient religion in India practised by a majority of people in the country, Hindutva is a political philosophy dealing with Hindu majoritarianism.
"Most Hindus, at least 50 per cent of them, have never voted for Hindutva. It is our way of conducting elections that has resulted in Hindutva power in the last 10 years," claimed Aiyar, adding that, unlike some people, he is not ready to write off the 2024 general elections.
Discussing his latest book, "The Rajiv I knew and Why he was India's most misunderstood Prime Minister", the 82-year-old talked about how almost every charge made against the former PM was without basis in truth including the Bofors scam.
The corruption scam, which led to the fall of the Congress government led by Rajiv Gandhi in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, related to alleged kickbacks in the Rs 1,437 crore howitzer gun deal signed in 1986 with Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors.
Aiyar, who served as a joint secretary in Rajiv Gandhi's prime minister's office and was his senior at Doon School and Cambridge, blamed the media for the Bofors story arguing that it was a "complete lie" from beginning to end, with even the high court of India stating that there was not a "scintilla of evidence" against him.
"In 2015, the identity of the former head of Swedish police (who led the investigations into the Bofors affairs)... turned out to be man called Lindstrom and he confesses in that interview in 2015 that they had nothing that led to the assumption that Rajiv Gandhi took any money in Bofors.
"And yet, this one story completely destroyed the political career of a man who had the highest vision for India. That is why today I am so angry about the media," he added.
Historian William Dalrymple, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, actor Prakash Raj, American physician-author Abraham Verghese, award-winning author Perumal Murugan and comedian Kanan Gill are among the 400 noted personalities attending the Kerala Literature Festival.
The discussions at the four-day festival, which began on Thursday, will revolve around several themes, including science and technology, literature, art, gender, cinema, culture and environment.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
