In Ayodhya, a 76-day yajna for Mulayam; 'it’s atonement', says VHP

Hindutva organisations may have been unsparing in their criticism of Mulayam Singh Yadav for his alleged action against Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya in 1990, but it has not stopped several Hindu priests from taking an active part in a 76-day yajna anushthan being held in Ayodhya to seek divine blessings for the SP leader. [caption id=“attachment_2062187” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.[/caption] The programme began in Ayodhya’s Shri Krishna Gaushala on 22 November when Mulayam’s 76th birthday was celebrated in grand style in Rampur courtesy Mohammad Azam Khan. It is slated to end on the 76th day – 5 February  – when a huge programme complete with purnahuti (completion prayers), yajna and a bhandara (community feast) is planned. Among the organizers are district SP president Jay Shankar Pandey and SP leader Ashish Pandey and they are making efforts to invite Mulayam on that day. It is learnt that eleven local priests are taking part in the daily rituals being held near the Kar Sevakpuram. “It is for the first time that such elaborate rituals are being held for Mulayam’s health and longevity in Ayodhya. Several SP leaders keep visiting the programme and we are also distributing blankets to the poor in addition to the community feast,” Pandey was quoted as saying. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Ram Janmabhumi movement leaders have not taken kindly to the religious programme, saying that it was an attempt on Mulayam’s part to “atone” for his sin of ordering firing on Kar Sevaks. VHP’s firebrand leader and veteran member of Ram Janmabhumi Trust Ram Vilas Vedanti is reported to have demanded that the Centre must prohibit the ongoing yajna. Taking exception to the yajna he said that in 1990 Mulayam had ordered firing on Kar Sevaks in an area from Digambar Akhada to Hanumangarhi anad the present ritual was his “atonement” for the incident. “Mulayam thinks that he would succeed in winning the hearts of the people of Ayodhya by such a gimmick but the countless Kar Sevaks and devotees of Ram can never forgive Mulayam,” Vedanti said. Mulayam, he was quoted as saying, “must first build a memorial for the slain Kar Sevaks and seek pardon from Ram devotees. Only then he would be pardoned for the atrocities that he had committed way back.” However, the Ayodhya SP MLA Tej Narayan (Pawan) Pandey first denied any knowledge of the programme but later said it was a “personal” effort of Jay Shankar Pandey and his son Ashish. He also feigned ignorance about its rituals or contents. But on November 20, two days before Mulayam’s birthday, he had organized a hawan and bhoj at the Gurukul Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya after which food and clothes were distributed to children in the Badi Bua orphanage. Locals say this is for the first time that such an elaborate Hindu religious programme has been organised in connection with Mulayam’s birthday. The SP has created a stronghold in Faizabad-Ayodhya having won four out of five Assembly seats in 2012 even though the Lok Sabha seat was won by BJP’s Lallu Singh in last year’s election. A veteran resident of Faizabad BN Arora, who has been associated with the media also, said the programme did not appear to be a big deal and possibly only some local SP leaders were behind it. Another resident and social worker Suman Kumari said probably some local SP leaders were behind the programme to earn some brownie points from the party top brass. “In any case there is no ban on anyone performing yajna for any purpose. We have had people performing hawan and yajna for Modi and now even for Obama’s successful visit,” she said. The SP has of late been trying to change its pro-Muslim image with many non-Muslims having been given new responsibilities in the power structure. Except for Azam Khan, no other Muslim leader is considered to exercise any serious political clout. Many of the Brahmin leaders of the party including a minister Manoj Pandey, have been meeting people of their community in a bid to alter the perception about the SP. According to an SP leader, the party is striving hard to appear as more “inclusive.” Most of the BJP leaders in Lucknow were dismissive about the Ayodhya event, while agreeing that probably it was a gimmick by the SP to win the support and sympathy of the majority community.