The insincerity of secular-liberal opposition leaders in wishing Hindus on the festivals was once again on display on Sunday as they attempted to ‘secularise’ the Hindu festivals by avoiding posting images of Hindu deities.
On Sunday, the nation celebrated the auspicious festival of Ram Navami with great pomp and grandeur. Ram Navami is one of the most significant Hindu festivals as it marks the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Shree Ramchandra. People from all walks of life took to social media platforms to wish Hindus whole-heartedly on the occasion of Ram Navami.
However, opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal indulged in turning Hindu festivals into a political spectacle. The ‘secular’ politicians resorted to a balancing act by wishing half-heartedly to Hindus on the one hand while keeping the wish a low profile event and not to anger its core voter constituencies, i.e., the minority voters.
Rahul Gandhi, who has a history of wishing Hindus half-heartedly on their festivals, took to Twitter on Sunday to extend wishes on the occasion of Ram Navami. The unenthusiastic wish from Rahul Gandhi followed his usual routine not to post any images of Hindu deities as he conveyed his wishes.
In his tweet, Rahul Gandhi said, “Wishing you all a very Happy Ram Navami. Hope this holy festival brings happiness to everyone’s life”.
He posted an infographic that read, “Shree Ram Navami”, pierced by an arrow. Interestingly, the image of Prabhu Ram was missing from the image.
आप सभी को राम नवमी की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ। आशा करता हूँ ये पावन पर्व सभी के जीवन में खुशियां लाये। pic.twitter.com/nOrDi9TG2W
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 10, 2022
This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi is putting infographics to wish Hindus on festivals without attaching images of deities to such posts. Just last month, Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi was caught shaming ‘Hindus’ on the occasion of Saraswati Puja as he politicised the festival by dragging the hijab row.
The Member of Parliament from Wayanad did not shy away from using the opportunity of ridiculing a Hindu festival by turning it into a political spectacle and did not miss any chance to lecture Hindus about morality.
Rahul Gandhi had unnecessarily dragged the Hijab controversy to wish Hindus so that he can guilt-trip the community over recent developments in the state. The insincerity of Rahul Gandhi’s to make half-hearted attempts to wish Hindus on the day of Saraswati Pooja was clear from his tweet.
It is not just Rahul Gandhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went a step ahead to secularise the Hindu festival of Ram Navami by placing his image before an image that uncannily resembled the central dome of the disputed structure that stood on the Ram Janmabhoomi, often referred to as ‘Babri Masjid’.
Kejriwal shares images of Babri Masjid to wish Hindus on Ram Navami
On the occasion of Ram Navami, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had put up an advertisement in leading dailies to wish Hindus on the auspicious festival that celebrates the birth of Prabhu Ram.
Strangely, the image of Prabhu Ram was missing from the graphic. Instead, Arvind Kejriwal himself was seen smiling at the readers. It seemed like Kejriwal had replaced himself in place of Bhagwan Ram in the wish advertorial.
Interestingly, the image Arvind Kejriwal chose to depict what he thought was a temple very eerily resembled the central dome of the disputed structure at Ayodhya. Moreover, the Dhwaja (flag) that fly high atop temples were also missing from the graphics in advertisement.
Netizens were quick to point out the charade put out by Arvind Kejriwal. They questioned the Delhi CM on what was the need of putting an image of what appeared like the disputed structure called Babri Masjid to wish Hindus on the day of Ram Navami. They also confronted Kejriwal on the absence of Shree Ram’s image in the advertisement.
@ArvindKejriwal Ramnavmi ki shubhkamnao ad mein bhagwan ram ki photo to laga deta bhaiya ,har jagah apni photo chipka deta hai pic.twitter.com/yXnXisIJ4Q
— Vik055 (@vikaspushkarna5) April 10, 2022
Another user pointed out that the advertisement looked like “Kejriwal Navami” rather than Ram Navami. This when the images of the upcoming Ram Mandir at Ayodhya are freely available on various social media platforms.
Pichhe mandir he ya mosque??
— Kali (@Kali_2024) April 10, 2022
Some netizens also took it upon themselves to fix the graphics in the advertisement.
Fixed it…..
— यशस्वी धर्मपिता बुल्ला भैया (@sanskaribulla) April 10, 2022
Happy Ramnavmi @ArvindKejriwal ❤️🙏 pic.twitter.com/YuU0GEEEbI
Some even pointed out how this could be one of the ways to appease the Aam Aadmi party vote bank.
This #RamNavami someone trying to remind his "Vote Bank" about #ShauryaDiwas ? #Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/FXpfxjJJHf
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) April 10, 2022
Kejriwal had earlier drawn flak for downplaying the Kashmiri Hindu genocide in the valley in the 1980s and 1990s by referring to the film The Kashmir Files as ‘jhoothi film’. The film depicts the atrocities that were perpetrated on the Hindus by Islamists.
The absence of images of Hindu deities in posts put out by opposition leaders to wish Hindus on festivals seems to be following a pattern. Rahul Gandhi has been doing it for a very long time now. It is being speculated that this pattern hints at a broader plan of doing away with Hindu iconography.
If one looks at their tweets, one can notice that both Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal have avoided sharing any graphics or images of Hindu deities. This hints at the conscious attempt not to include Hindu iconography in their tweets.
It is pertinent to note that Abrahamic beliefs such as Islam and Christianity do not endorse multiple gods and their depiction. In Islam, the depiction of idols and human forms of God are considered ‘haram’. Idolatry is one of the biggest sins in Islam.
