Concerns Raised Over Politicization of Religious Sentiments During Indian Elections

In a letter to the Election Commission, a significant portion of the Left-leaning academic community, civil society members, and members of Bengal's cultural fraternity expressed concern about the trend—which they claimed was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—of openly disobeying the model code of conduct and denouncing those who disagree with the BJP as “enemies of Lord Rama."

The letter, which was signed by about a hundred people, stated: "In an attempt to undermine his political opponents, Modi is playing on religious feelings by characterizing them as 'enemies' of Lord Rama who have opposed the building of the Rama Temple in Ayodhya."

Arun Mukhopadhyay, Chandan Sen, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Paran Bandopadhyay, Debojyoti Mishra, Arko Mukherjee, film-makers Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Anik Dutta, and Satarupa Sanyal, and academics Pabitra Sarkar and Malini Bhattacharya were among the signatories.

The letter, which called for action against the "offenders," stated that the Prime Minister "in this way was inciting hatred against his political opponents" and that, at his rallies, he would utilize religious slogans like "Jai Shri Ram is used as a political slogan by the slogan."

Singer Subhaprasad Nandi Majumdar, one of the letter signatories, stated that they had communicated to the EC that the Prime Minister's politicization of Lord Rama's name might inflame communal unrest in vulnerable areas given the unstable environment in which the Lok Sabha elections are being held.

"When provocation comes from top political leaders at other levels too might follow suit," said the president.

Majumdar went on to say: "The BJP and Modi's attempt to stoke religious sentiments was a deliberate ploy to divert the attention of voters from social security issues that includes the demand for food security, right to education and jobs."