Opinion | Ayodhya Ram temple could pay rich political dividends for CPM in Kerala

The CPM central leadership's firm no and the Congress party's indecisive response to the invite of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to the ‘pran pratishta’ (consecration) of the new Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 will be immediately felt in Kerala.

After its unconditional support for the Palestine cause, the CPM has once again thrown its weight unconditionally behind the Muslim community. While declining the invite, the CPM politburo on December 26 made a clear distinction between religion and politics.

"The CPI(M) policy has been to respect religious beliefs and safeguard the right of every individual to pursue their belief. It believes that religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain. Therefore, we will not be attending the ceremony," the PB said in a press communique.

The Congress, on the other hand, seems perennially confused about its approach to religion. Therefore, it is still not clear whether the Congress has accepted the invite or not. This prolonged vacillation is not helping Congress in Kerala.

To attend or not to attend
There is no official word on the issue but a senior leader like Digvijay Singh has gone on record saying that either Sonia Gandhi or a Congress delegation she chooses would attend the Ram Lalla installation ceremony on January 22. Sonia Gandhi has not made her stand public but Singh said that she was "very positive on this matter".

However, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal was utterly vague. He neither confirmed nor ruled out participation. "You will know about the party's stand. You will know about the participation on January 22," he told reporters in New Delhi on December 21.

This can be read as ideological cowardice or incoherence, or both. The rise of the BJP has forced the Congress to steer away from its traditional Nehruvian approach of keeping the state strictly away from religion.

The growing political merger of disparate Hindu groups under the BJP has made the Congress shudder at the thought of being labelled anti-Hindu. The party, therefore, adopted the till now unsuccessful strategy of positioning itself as both Hindu and secular.

A path to nowhere called middle path
This Congress desire to be both is also not uniformly proportioned. The Hindu-secular mix changes with geography. In the Hindi heartland, it wants to be more Hindu than secular. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, for instance, loves to be seen in saffron shawls crammed with Hindu imagery. Another former Congress CM Digvijay Singh had boasted that he had donated more money for the Ayodhya temple than even BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

In the south, the party wants to be more secular than Hindu. The Congress, for instance, went to polls in Karnataka in May 2023 promising to repeal the hijab ban, a law against conversion and another that banned cow slaughter. Both ways, the Congress is looking for an in-between middle path.

But when faced with an issue like the inauguration of a new temple on the site of the demolished Babri Masjid, there is no middle path. It is either/or. The party should either attend or not attend.

Yechury’s growing charm
The CPM and CPI have shown ideological firmness. Like Yechury and D Raja, Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have also received invitations. The Congress but remains confused, and such muddled thinking could sink the party in Kerala.

The Indian Union Muslim League, a powerful UDF ally, has already sounded an indirect warning. "It is usual for the BJP to foment communal trouble before elections. Till now, they had engineered communal riots," the IUML general secretary P M Salam told reporters in Kozhikode on December 27. The League believes the inauguration of the new temple in Ayodhya to be at the heart of the BJP's latest divisive agenda. "We should not fall for the agenda set by the BJP," he said.

If Salam masked his party's disappointment in friendly advice, the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, the most powerful Muslim religious body in Kerala and whose sympathies traditionally lie with the UDF, did not hide its bitterness.

A sharply worded editorial in its mouthpiece 'Suprabhatham' was a challenge thrown at the Congress. "Leaders like Sitaram Yechury have realised that the Ram temple inauguration is a litmus test for transforming India into a 'Hindu Rashtra'. That is why the moment he received the invite, Yechury could turn it down with his head held high. It is this courage and commitment that those who swear by secularism and democracy expect from leaders like Sonia Gandhi."

The Samastha has been growing closer to the CPM long before the Congress looked utterly clueless about an invitation to Ayodhya. The CPM's bold and decisive move could further cement the bond.

Satheesan’s discomfort
Therefore, it was no wonder that opposition leader V D Satheesan looked uncomfortable the other day in Kozhikode when he was told that a Congress representative would take part in the inauguration. "Everyone has been called," Satheesan said, irritated.

His composure crumbled so suddenly that when asked about Congress participation, Satheesan asked reporters to check whether Sitaram Yechury had accepted the invitation or not. When he was told that Yechury had unequivocally rejected the invite, he was at pains to explain the Congress position. "I have no idea what has happened. It is at the national level...," he said, leaving the sentence incomplete. A rare moment when a highly articulate Satheesan was seen fumbling for words to salvage the moment.

Then, as if he had acquired a sudden grip on the situation, he went into denial mode. "I have no information about this," he said. But this was more confusing as only a moment ago he had spoken about the invites being sent to many national leaders including Sitaram Yechury.

Eventually, he ended up saying: "A stand on this has to be taken at the national level. Anyway, no one from here is going." Satheesan's discomfort is a clear indication that there is a fear that the UDF in Kerala could be destabilised if the Congress national leadership decides to visit Ayodhya.