[Marxistindia] Yatra for Communal Polarisation

[news from the cpi(m)]

February 14, 2018
Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:

Yatra for Communal Polarisation

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deep concern at the grave
implications of the “Ram Raj Rath Yatra” flagged off yesterday at Ayodhya
in Uttar Pradesh.  This rally was flagged off by the RSS-affiliated VHP
General Secretary in the presence of Faizabad BJP MP, Ayodhya’s BJP Mayor
and other BJP leaders.

The yatra is supposedly to retrace the route of Rama to Sri Lanka, as
described in the Hindu epic Ramayana.  It has declared that the main
agenda is to administer a pledge to the people for the construction of Ram
temple at the disputed land in Ayodhya (even though the Supreme Court is
still hearing petitions on this), re-establish `Ram Rajya’, inclusion of
teaching of Ramayana in school syllabus and replace Sunday by Thursday as
the weekly holiday to observe ‘National Hindu Day’.

The route of the yatra proceeds through 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
Tamilnadu.

This yatra has an incendiary potential to sharpen communal polarization 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 Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) calls upon 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 Polit Bureau calls upon all secular and peace-loving
forces to expose the sinister designs of communal mobilisatiion by the
RSS/BJP.