Amid tribal protests in Bastar, the Bhupesh Baghel government in Chhattisgarh marked its two years in office with a four-day bike rally and a Rath Yatra that ended on Thursday. Interestingly, the event culminated in Raipur’s Chankhuri town, the birthplace of Lord Ram’s mother Kaushalya, amid allegations that the Congress was politicising the deity.
“Lord Ram spent most of his time in Chhattisgarh and hence, we have decided to develop those places…It is part of our culture and identity and people of the world should know this,” said Baghel, addressing the event in Chankhuri.
“ … Nowadays, people who want to collect money and votes also take the name of Lord Ram… No one can teach us about Lord Ram, He is of the poor and farmers,” said Baghel.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the party was dividing Lord Ram for political gains. “The Congress is dividing Ram as ours and theirs for political gains. It is the same Congress which rejected the presence of Lord Ram. It is a welcome move that now, they have accepted that they cannot move ahead without Lord Ram’s blessings,” state BJP president Vishnu Deo Sai said.