In an exclusive interview with The Daily Guardian, firebrand saffron leader and BJP’s national vice-president Uma Bharti said that Ram Rajya would soon become a reality in India after the Ram temple’s construction in Ayodhya. Excerpts:
Q: Now that the date to lay the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been announced, will you also be present there as you were present on 6 December 1992?
A: This is not an issue for me. Whether I am present there or not, we want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be present on the occasion. It is like Ganga is there and other tributaries are also in it. The way the Somnath temple’s work began under the presence of Dr Rajendra Prasad. Modi ji represents all of us. It is not important for me and I don’t want to talk further on whether I am invited or not.
Q: What next after Ayodhya? Mathura, Kashi…
A: Presently we are focusing on Ayodhya and that is the priority. In Kashi and Mathura, there are already huge temples and prayers and rituals are happening every day since ages. Next to the Ram temple, it is Ram Rajya in India on which we are focusing. We are sure under the able leadership of our popular Prime Minister Modi; this will also be a reality soon.
Q: Why 5 August when astrologers are saying it is not auspicious?
A: I am not an expert to talk on time, nor am I an astrologer. I am happy that the foundation laying of the temple will be performed. It is a matter of joy and pride for me. Mahant Gopal Das and Champat Rai are the right person to answer these questions. I am happy that the Ram temple is being constructed.
Q: Who will take the credit for the construction of the temple? BJP, VHP, RSS or Shiv Sena?
A: When the Nepalese Prime Minister said that Ram was born in Nepal, I asked why they stopped him. Let him construct a Ram temple there but from where will he get Sarayu river? Then I suggest naming any river as Sarayu and construct a temple there. We do not have a patent on Ram. Let Sonia Gandhi chant ‘Shri Ram Jai Ram’, Let Sharad Pawar and Asad Owaisi chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. We will not have any problem, rather we will send them percussion and ‘manjira’ to play and chant.
Q: NCP leader Sharad Pawar has said that instead of stonelaying it is the time to fight the war against corona.
A: The team working at the site is not the team working on corona. They are different people. Ask Sharad Pawar about the work in the state of Maharashtra. Has everything come to a grinding halt? These are all false and baseless. They are unable to digest how the entire nation came together for construction of the Ram temple and I appeal to people to teach those lessons who tried to vitiate communal harmony by bringing Lord Ram in between
. Q: Do you think Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray should also be invited on 5 August?
A: Who has stopped him from visiting Ayodhya? He can go tomorrow. No one will stop him. Only thing he will have to follow is social distancing during this pandemic. Why do these politicians crave for invitation?
Q: Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Barq and AIMIM MP from Maharashtra Imtiaz Jaleel are saying that you are stopping them from celebrating Bakr-e-Eid (Eid al-Adha) due to Covid but in the meantime you are celebrating foundation laying.
A: That is a state subject and as you know there is a lockdown; even the Raksha Bandhan festival will not be celebrated, which is a major festival. Also, the Ram temple ceremony is not a public function and at one place where a limited number of people are being called and will assemble.
Q. You were already a two-time MP. How did you get into the Ram temple movement?
A: I used to do discourse (pravachan) on ‘Gita’ and ‘Ramayana’ and I was just 8-year-old. It was in the year 1969 when saint Ramchandra Paramhans took me to Ayodhya for a discourse on Ramayana. He took me to show the disputed site and it was painful to see and witness it. Later, a few years after I was told that there was an order by the court to open the lock. There was mounting pressure by the Babri Masjid Action Committee so that namaz prayers could be offered on the disputed site. By this time, I was a two-time MP and under the leadership of Ashok Singhal, I was also asked to be part of a committee to convince the committee members to avoid offering prayers. On seeing that things were not going according to what was requested, then the BJP in its Palampur National Convention passed a resolution of construction of a huge Ram temple. Then with an idea to reach out to people in the country, Advani ji took out a Rath Yatra. Ashok Singhal was our ideologue and Advani ji became the political face of the movement and I was their trusted lieutenant. I am happy that later Ram temple became the national issue. This way I got connected to the movement.
Q: When the Babri structure was brought down, it became a headline all over the world and it was termed as national shame for India.
A: Why should we be ashamed of it? It was a people’s movement with sentiments involved. Everyone who was present was chanting ‘Ram Ram Jai Shri Ram’. Emergency was a national shame. Sikh violence was a national shame. When thousands of Sikhs were killed, when the country was divided and Partition was done, these were national shame. Chanting ‘Ram Ram’ can never be a matter of shame.