Tag: bjp

Vasundhara Raje Govt Builds 50 Holy Statues Ahead of Polls, Congress Cries Vote Bank Politics

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Be it Rajputs and Jats or the members of camel-herding and ST/SC communities, the BJP government in Rajasthan has come up with a way to please them all before the upcoming assembly elections. A many as 50 panoramas of local religious deities, noblemen, saints and warriors — from various communities — have been built across the state.

For instance, the members of Rajasthan’s Jat community are devotees of a local deity called Veer Tejaji, and Vasundhara Raje government has built a panorama of Tejaji at Kharnal Village in Nagour district. Kharnal is the birth place of Tejaji and the devotees go there to offer prayers. The western Rajasthan, known to be a Jat-dominated area, will play a key role in determining the fate of 40 seats in the upcoming election.

For the Scheduled Caste community, the government has built a panorama of Ramdev ji, also known as Ramdev Baba, in Ramdevra Village of Jaislmer District. Ramdev Baba has a huge following among the ST/SC community.
Same is the case with the camel-herding communities Raika and Rebari, which worship Pabuji Rathore. The folk-deity’s statue and panorama have been placed in Jodhpur’s Kolu Village. Pabuji is also popular among people from the Schedule Caste.

Several historic Rajput rulers and warriors from history have also found a place in the list. A panorama of Mughal-era ruler Amar Singh Rathore, who had defied the might of Shah Jahan at the royal court in Agra, has been placed in Nagour. Amar Singh Rathore is seen as an icon of bravery and freedom by the Rajputs, another major caste in the State. Every year, the Rajput community celebrates his birth day in Nagour.

Other panoramas include those of legendary saints such as Meera Bai, Sant Ravidas and Sant Bhagat Peepa.

Accusing the Raje government of vote bank politics, state’s Congress spokeperson Archana sharma said, “The Raje government is politicising these Panoramas as caste and community symbols for vote bank politics.” But Onkar Singh Lakhawat, chairman of Rajasthan’s Heritage Promotion Board, refuted these allegations, saying the BJP is only trying to pay tribute to the unsung heroes through the panoramas.

Since cow protection has become a major issue in Rajasthan due to cases of lynching in the past, the government has portrayed local deities Veer Tejaji and Pabuji Rathore as cow vigilantes who sacrificed their lives to protect the animal.

Muslim freedom fighters have also found place in the list, in what seems like a bid to give out the message of secularism. In Alwar, which was in the news recently for a lynching incident in name of saving cows, the Raje government has erected panoramas of Hasan Khan Mewati, a freedom fighter from the Meo community.

Disclaimer: RSS has been taken from their official website.

Rajasthan: Eye on polls, BJP, Congress woo SC voters

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Rajasthan has 34 Assembly seats that are reserved for the SC community. The BJP won 32 of these in the 2013 state polls, while the Congress drew a blank. In 2014, however, the Congress won the Weir reserved seat in a bypoll.

With Assembly elections in Rajasthan a few months away, the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress are vying with each other to woo the Scheduled Castes which, according to the 2011 Census, account for 18 per cent of the state’s population.

According to BJP, More than 2,000 ‘booth vistaraks’ of the party are going from village to village and telling members of the SC community about the Centre and state government’s initiatives for the weaker sections of the society.

“Each vistarak has been allotted two villages where they will interact with the SC youth and residents. We are telling them about state and central government initiatives such as the construction of Ambedkar Bhawans in each municipality,” O P Mahendra, president of state BJP SC Morcha, told The Indian Express. Ambedkar Bhawans are community centres being built by the state government.

Mahendra said the vistaraks are also highlighting the central government’s move to bring The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill in August. The Bill was brought to undo “dilution” of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by a Supreme Court order that laid down guidelines to be followed before registering a case under the Act. The verdict was met with strong protests from the community.

“The vistaraks will also make the SC population aware about the efforts of the Narendra Modi government to protect the memory of Babasaheb, such as the inauguration of a memorial in London. The Congress didn’t do any of this,” said Mahendra.

Rajasthan has 34 Assembly seats that are reserved for the SC community. The BJP won 32 of these in the 2013 state polls, while the Congress drew a blank. In 2014, however, the Congress won the Weir reserved seat in a bypoll.

The Congress, meanwhile, has launched Samvidhan se Swabhiman Yatra to reach out to the SC population. “Around 4,000 Congress workers are going to every panchayat, slum and village, and convening meetings with the SC population. They are telling them that democracy and secularism are in danger and there is a need to vote Congress back to power,” said Goparam Meghwal, president of the party’s state SC department.

Dalit rights activists said there is anger among the SC population, especially after the April 2 Bandh when several people from the community complained of persecution and harassment by police and anti-reservation outfits. “Neither Congress or BJP can take the SC population for granted. There is anger among Dalit youth and they won’t tolerate discrimination anymore,” said Satish Kumar, director, Centre for Dalit Rights, Jaipur.

Disclaimer: RSS has been taken from their official website.