'Brahmanism' charge wrong, OBCs run Adheenams: BJP

NEW DELHI: On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) triggered a row by comparing the new building's shape with that of a coffin while Samajwadi Party alleged that only "Brahmanical gurus" were invited for installation of the 'sengol'.
Their remarks triggered widespread reactions from the BJP and its senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi suggested a case of treason against the RJD for comparing the "temple of democracy" with a coffin.
"What can be more unfortunate than this? They have no brains. This new Parliament building has been built with public money. Representatives of all parties, even if they have boycotted the inauguration, will be attending proceedings there. Has the RJD decided to permanently boycott Parliament? Will their MPs resign from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?" Modi asked.
On the RJD using the picture of a coffin alongside that of the new Parliament, he said, "What can be more disrespectful? It shows the political party's cheap mindset. This is an auspicious day, a day of pride for the country when a new Parliament is being dedicated to the nation. And it is being compared to a coffin. That's the photo they tweeted. A case of sedition must be registered against such people."
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, "People of the country will bury you in the same coffin in 2024 and will not give you the opportunity to enter the new temple of democracy. It is decided that the Parliament building belongs to the country and the coffin to you."
Explaining the post from the RJD's official handle, the party's Shakti Singh Yadav said, "The coffin in our tweet is a representation of democracy being buried. Parliament is the temple of democracy, a place for dialogue. But they want to take it in a different direction. The country will not accept that. This is a violation of the Constitution and tradition. The President is the all-in-all of Parliament as per the Constitution. We urge the PM not to put democracy in a coffin."
Attacking the government, SP general secretary Swami P Maurya claimed that only "fundamentalist Brahmin gurus" were invited for installation of the sengol" (a ceremonial sceptre) in the new Parliament building.
In a tweet in Hindi, Maurya said, "If the BJP government had faith in India as a secular, sovereign nation, all religious leaders of the country such as Buddhist dharmacharyas (monks), Jain acharyas (sages), guru granthis, Muslim religious leaders (maulanas), Christian religious leaders (pastors) etc would have been invited. By not doing so, the BJP has shown its vile and despicable mentality."
BJP's chief spokesperson Anil Baluni said SP's allegations of Brahmanism reflected that it didn't do any homework or research. "The Adheenams are run by communities that come under BC and OBC categories. They have a rich history of Tamil literature that worships Lord Shiva. It is an insult to these holy Adheenams and to the diversity of Hinduism to make such comments," he said.