Saamana Editorial mocks PM Modi’s temple clean-up call before Jan 22 event

Named 'Jhaadu Ko Badnaam Kiya,' the editorial asserted that PM Modi's clean-up initiative, along with the reactions from Union ministers and top BJP leaders, was simply an extension of the party's majority-focused strategy leading up to this year's Lok Sabha elections.

Mumbai: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his call to cleanse temples ahead of the opening of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Saamana, the official mouthpiece of Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday claimed in its latest editorial that even Lord Ram would be smiling if he was watching the ‘drama’ unfold.

Titled ‘Jhaadu Ko Badnaam Kiya’, the editorial claimed the clean-up call of PM Modi and the response to the same by Union ministers and top BJP leaders was a mere extension of the party’s majoritarian outreach ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year.

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Prime Minister Modi, who is set to preside over the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22, launched the cleaning campaign on a visit to the Kalaram Temple in Nashik on January 12.

Mocking at PM Modi’s clean-up act at the temple, the Saamana editorial claimed that he picked up the mop to clean an already ‘shining’ floor.

“Ahead of the Shri Ram Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya, the BJP seems to be enacting a drama across the country. Lord Shri Ram himself would be smiling if he was watching this drama unfold. The BJP’s Union Ministers have started cleaning temples across the country ahead of the January 22 opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Not just central ministers, but even cabinet members and BJP leaders across states are out sweeping and mopping temples in the run-up to the Ram Mandir Utsav. Is this part of any Pran Pratishtha ritual? However, what could the BJP leaders have done when Prime Minister Modi himself gave the orders? The PM launched the cleaning campaign by mopping a temple floor in Nashik that was already shining,” the editorial read.

Also taking a swipe at Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the editorial stated that the focus of the cleaning campaign needs to be on railway assets and infrastructure, as most trains, platforms and toilets are ‘dirty’.

“Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Hanuman Setu Temple in Lucknow for a clean-up job. He visited the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and cleaned the floor. Union Minister Anurag Thakur also visited the Hanuman Temple in (Delhi’s) Connaught Place and picked up the broom to clean the floor. Another Union Minister, Ashwini Vaishnav, too, indulged in a similar clean-up at a temple in Bhubaneswar. However, our Railway Minister should have directed his efforts toward local trains, railway platforms and toilets as they are very dirty. So the real clean-up job needs to be done at these places. However, he chose to take his eyes off the railway assets that are asking to be cleaned and mopped a temple floor instead,” the editorial read.

Underlining how a broom is considered auspicious by the Hindus and is a sacred symbol associated with Goddess Lakshmi, the column read, “The broom has a sacred place in the Hindu religion and the drama around the BJP leaders picking up brooms for cleaning temples was nothing but a distasteful act of political posturing with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections. Our Santan culture is clean and transparent. It is about the purity of one’s heart and soul.”