Ram temple inauguration by PM Modi, a 'gross misuse of religious sentiments', says Yechury

Kannur: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of other Constitutional functionaries was a "gross misuse of religious sentiments" for BJP's political gain.

Addressing the media, Yechury said that the Constitution clearly defines secularism as the separation of religion from politics and the state.

He said that the inauguration of the temple represents an overt politicisation of religion, which contradicts the principles of the Constitution.

"Here, this function, the inauguration is going to be done by the Prime Minister of India in the presence of the UP Chief Minister and those who hold other Constitutional positions. We feel this is a gross misuse of the religious sentiments of the people for their (BJP) political purposes. This is the open politicisation of religion which is not in consonance with the Constitution or the Supreme Court rulings," Yechury said.

He said the strategy to counter this politicisation was to strictly adhere to secularism.

"You cannot combat this sort of religious fundamentalism of all these Hindutva offences by being a soft Hindutva or a soft saffron approach," the senior Left leader said.

The Ram temple will be inaugurated on January 22, where PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the grand "Pran Pratistha" ceremony.

Yechury also attacked the BJP-led NDA government on various aspects, including the issue of surveillance and the alleged failure of the economy.

Referring to the recent issue of Apple phone notifications in connection with intrusion or monitoring of handsets, he said, "this is a surveillance state that has been put in place" and it was not merely an intrusion into our privacy, which it is, but it is much more than that.

"It is a surveillance state where everything is being monitored. Even conversations," he added.

The Left leader rubbished the BJP's claim of a "vibrant economy" and termed it as propaganda.

"As far as people are concerned, the last 10 years is the worst as far as their livelihood is concerned. Unemployment is at the highest. This government has been doing a lot of data fudging. Manipulation of data. And now they have added a new category to the employment of unpaid labour," Yechury said.

He claimed that there is an inability for the industry to grow in the country due to lack of domestic demand.

"As far as the industry is concerned, its inability to grow is because of the lack of domestic demand. People don't have the money or purchasing power. For the bulk of the Indian people, their actual purchasing power is declining. And when there is no demand, there are no future investments," he said.

Yechury said that as per the government's own projection for this fiscal year, the proposals for new investments have come down by more than 70 per cent, both in the private and governmental sectors.

The Left leader also pointed out that in terms of per capita income, India is at 142nd position out of the 180 countries.

"We have the lowest per capita income of all the G20 countries. We have the lowest HDI. The people's miseries are growing; unemployment, price rise, hunger index etc but the Central government dismisses all the global indices," Yechury said.

He said with the current situation of the working people, their struggle will intensify and will impact the 2024 elections.