A notable achievement of the Modi government is that many individuals and political parties are now rushing to reclaim what they had long shunned, their Hindu identity. In their desperate attempts to appease the minority, politicians reduced Hindus to being second class citizens in their own country. The reason behind this vocal and public discrimination was simple, the minority resorted to bloc-voting while the Hindus being truly secular, had no fixed voting pattern.
Post 2014, the political climate in the country underwent a radical shift, as it was probably the very first time in history that Hindus voted enthusiastically and for the party that didn’t indulge in the shameless appeasement of the minority. It is because of that decision, that today we see political parties and leaders digging for their ‘Hindu’ credentials. The latest in the list is Mamata Banerjee.
Mamata Banerjee has been infamous for her minority appeasement antics for a long time now. She, in fact took minority appeasement to levels that were unheard of before. From banning Durga Pooja to getting nationalists arrested, she used all the tools at her disposal to target Hindus in the state. Every election manifesto of her party was minority centric. From doling out freebies, to jobs to scholarships, she did everything that she could, to appease the said minority.
Like Rahul Gandhi and others, Mamata Banerjee has jumped on the ‘soft-hindutva’ bandwagon. The sole reason she is doing it, is to remain politically relevant in the state. With a saffron surge in the country Mamata is facing an existential crisis. In a desperate bid to garner Hindu votes TMC is contemplating construction of 10 sun-temples in Asansol area of West Bengal. Asansol being a Hindu majority area is ideal for her devious pursuit of Hindu votes. It is the same constituency where BJP’s Babul Supriyo won a tremendous victory in 2014.
Vardhaman Tiwari, who is also a TMC MLA from the West Burdwan district, said. “We have already started mobilizing funds from the locals for the construction of the temples. We have formed temple committees in different areas to raise funds. The Asansol Municipal Corporation will provide infrastructure support such as roads and electricity,”
“In this area of Durgapur-Asansol, there is a huge Hindi speaking population. Every year, we witness large number of devotees during Chhath Puja. In order to cater to them, we have decided to build 10 sun temples in the area,” Tiwari, who is also the chairman of Chhath Puja Coordination Committee, told PTI.
The decision to construct the temples comes at a time when the BJP has registered phenomenal growth in Bengal politics by championing the cause of Hindus. TMC is clearly desperate to widen its vote base in the region and the state and is willing to do anything to appease Hindus. All and all what we are witnessing, is nothing short of renaissance for the majority of Indians.
It took around 70 years but ‘Ache Din’ have finally arrived.