‘Oppn uproar over Manikarnika issue bid to consolidate Hindus’

Varanasi/Lucknow: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has termed the Congress and Samajwadi Party attack on the BJP over the alleged "destruction" of the centuries-old Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi as nothing more than a "dishonest" and "half-hearted" attempt to consolidate the Hindus, which would never fructify."They will never succeed in mobilising the Hindu community like this. It is just a desperate bid to malign the BJP. Parties like the Congress and Samajwadi Party lack credibility amongst Hindus," VHP international president Alok Kumar told TOI on Wednesday. This, he said, was akin to former PM Rajiv Gandhi's decision to start the 1989 general election campaign from Ayodhya, promising Ram Rajya, a move which was seen as a political gesture vis-a-vis the Ramjanmabhoomi issue while appealing to Hindu sentiments. The Congress performed poorly in 1989 polls and was voted out of govt despite remaining the single largest party. VHP chief's stance, experts said, seeks to reinforce a long-standing Sangh Parivar belief that Hindu consolidation cannot be episodic but must be rooted in sustained ideological work. The assertion that such attempts "will never fructify", an analyst said, underscores Kumar's confidence that Hindu voters distinguish between symbolic gestures and ideological commitment. Analysts said VHP's reference to Rajiv Gandhi's 1989 gambit tends to serve as a caution, suggesting that late-stage religious outreach without ideological depth not only fails but can backfire.Kumar said the opposition was treading a similar path by spreading rumours about Manikarnika Ghat. "There doesn't seem to be a strategy of the opposition. It is their knee-jerk reaction to oppose anything done by the BJP," he said. Kumar said AI-generated fake demolition videos (of Manikarnika Ghat) were circulated on social media to spread confusion. He said the police were taking legal action accordingly.SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had recently said that "indestructible Kashi itself will become the cause of BJP's destruction", accusing the party of acting purely for monetary gain.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party president Mallikarjun Kharge too questioned the Rs 25 crore redevelopment project for the makeover of the ghats. Priyanka said it was "extremely unfortunate" to run bulldozers over a centuries-old religious and cultural site like Manikarnika Ghat. She said the ghat holds immense religious significance and is deeply linked to the legacy of Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar. Calling the demolition a "grave sin", Priyanka alleged that heritage sites are being destroyed for the commercial benefit of a few.As part of the project, sections of the old ghats in Kashi were demolished and the debris was transported across the Ganga using large boats. The district administration said the artefacts recovered during the demolition have been preserved with the help of the culture department and stored at Gurudham.