Ram Raj Rath Yatra may spark communal polarisation: CPM

The CPI(M) on Wednesday expressed its concerns over the “Ram Raj Rath Yatra” flagged off from Ayodhya and said it had the potential to trigger communal polarisation in the country. The yatra was flagged off from the VHP’s local headquarters Karsewak Puram in Ayodhya by party general secretary Champat Rai. The 41-day yatra will reach Rameshwaram, in Tamil Nadu, after covering parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.

In a statement, the CPI(M) politburo said the yatra flagged off in the presence of Faizabad BJP MP, Ayodhya’s BJP mayor and other BJP leaders had already declared its “main agenda to construct Ram temple” on the disputed land in Ayodhya and re-establish ‘Ram Rajya’.

“CPI(M) expresses its deep concern over the ‘Ram Raj Rath Yatra’. This yatra has an incendiary potential to sharpen communal

polarisation in order to strengthen the communal Hindutva vote bank for the RSS-BJP. There are grave implications of possibilities for stoking communal tensions, violence and mayhem,” the statement said.

The Left party claimed that the organisers of the yatra had also declared including teachings of the Ramayana in school curricula, and replace Sunday with Thursday as the weekly holiday to observe

‘National Hindu Day’. The statement also pointed out that the route of the yatra proceeds through the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, spending nearly a fortnight in Karnataka where Assembly elections are due, then proceeding via Kerala to reach Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

The politburo of the CPI(M) urged both the central and State Governments to strengthen the law and order apparatus to ensure that communal peace is not disturbed, and individual right to life and liberty is not violated. The party called upon all secular and peace-loving forces to expose the “sinister designs of communal mobilisation by the RSS/BJP”.