Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey speaks to The Sunday Guardian.
From a kar sevak to a Union Cabinet Minister of Heavy Industries, Mahendra Nath Pandey has been a part of the Ram Temple movement since the mid-1980s and continues to play a key role for the successful conduct of the ongoing festivities and ceremonies in Ayodhya. Excerpts from an interview he gave to The Sunday Guardian:
Q: How do you see the proposed consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple?
A: For me, it is a very overwhelming and joyous moment because of my active involvement in the Ram Temple movement from the very beginning. I was among the first few kar sevaks to be arrested by the Mulayam Singh government under the National Security Act and spent three months in jail in the 1990s. Even during the 1992 kar seva, I was present in Ayodhya. The consecration ceremony on 22 January is testimony to the collective achievement of Ram bhakts.
Q: Why do Opposition parties see politics behind efforts to build the Ram Temple?
A: The people knew that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya and they wanted that a Ram Temple should be built there. The feeling of every Indian is the feeling of the BJP. It is a matter of great pleasure that the temple, which is the centre of faith and devotion, is coming up as per law and with consensus during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Q: There is a clear divide within the ranks of the Opposition on the issue of attending the consecration ceremony? What do you think is the issue involved?
A: In our scriptures it is clearly stated that a person who falls into the trap of hesitation and ifs and buts, scripts his or her own destruction. The Opposition parties are trying to give a political colour to a matter of faith and they would be exposed before the people.
Q: You have also been active in Uttar Pradesh politics and headed the BJP’s state unit. Was it difficult when the rival parties questioned your outfit’s commitment to the cause?
A: For the BJP, Ram Temple was never a political issue. It was a matter of people’s faith in Ram and it is our commitment to fulfil the public dream that is manifesting in Ram Lalla’s consecration. In the past, attempts were made to suppress the Temple movement; suggestions were made to shift the Temple to another site but we can see that Lord Ram has his own ways of fulfilling his devotees’ wishes.
Q: How do you see the construction of Ram Temple contributing to the Sanatan cause?
A: We have seen how the Sanatan Dharam has been targeted by vested political interests. The construction of the Ram Temple amounts to realisation of the dreams of millions of Ram bhakts, spread across the globe, and this is surely going to reaffirm the Sanatan ethos. The construction of the temple is a testimony to the failed attempts over the centuries to eradicate Sanatan and the word “Ram”.
Q: How are you contributing to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya?
A: I am blessed to be from the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is home to holy cities like Ayodhya and Varanasi. As the attention of Ram bhakts across the globe is focused on Ayodhya and the festivities there, our workers and I are more concerned and committed to facilitating the stay and comfort of visitors to Ayodhya. I will myself visit Ayodhya only after 30 January, after ensuring that all the guests at the consecration ceremony experience a memorable stay.