Stating that stoking communal fires in the name of Shriram is an insult to the very "idea of Lord Ram", Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said even Lord Ram will be restless over the developments in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, where communal clashes on Ram Navami led to the imposition of curfew. He accused the BJP of adopting a strategy of sowing religious discord to win elections, even at the cost of breaking the country. In his weekly column "Rokhthok" in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Raut wrote, "if someone wants to stoke the fire of fundamentalism and disturb the peace to win elections, they are sowing seeds of a second Partition". Raut is the executive editor of Saamana. Referring to communal clashes in various parts of the country on Ram Navami on April 10, Raut stated it was not a good sign.
"Earlier, Ram Navami processions were all about culture and religion. But now swords are brandished and communal discord is created. Ruckus was created outside mosques resulting in violence," he alleged. In a veiled swipe at BJP, Raut said those who abandoned the Ram mandir movement midway are now displaying swords in the name of Lord Ram. "This cannot be called Hindutva. Stoking communal fires in name of Lord Ram is an insult to the idea of Ram," he said. "Even Lord Ram will be restless over the developments in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone," the Sena leader stated. Raut said cultural processions were taken out in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, on Gudhi Padwa on April 2 marking the Hindu and Marathi new year, but there was no violence even after these processions passed through Muslim localities.
"There was no violence. Why should all the violence happen on Ram Navami? Can anyone believe Muslims will hurl stones at a Ram Navami procession in Gujarat, the home state of PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah?" he asked referring to violence in Sabarkantha. Raut accused Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray of implementing the BJP's agenda."...(The agenda is) Create law and order problems in Maharashtra to pave the way for imposition of President's rule," he wrote. The MNS chief recently said that if the Maharashtra government fails to remove loudspeakers atop mosques by May 3, 'Hanuman Chalisa' will be played at a higher volume outside mosques. He had also batted for the implementation of Uniform Civil Code in the country and a law to curb the population growth.
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