Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5 and the whole program will be live-telecasted on Doordarshan. But, even a week before the event, controversy has broken about PM’s presence at the religious occasion. Political rivals & opportunities have given it a communal spin by putting forth their theory that Bhoomi pujan by PM will be a setback for secular fabric of the nation.

Congress and Left, both have opposed PM’s presence at bhoomi pujan but going by their own records, one gets to know that Congress PM Indira Gandhi had ‘misused’ the services of public broadcaster, which they are claiming now.

Shashi S Vempati, the CEO of Prasar Bharati today shared a video of Indira Gandhi’s speech at Deoband which was aired on DD National in 1980 and slammed people for objecting over the live telecast of Ram Mandir ‘Bhumi Pujan’ on Doordarshan.

Exhibit A https://t.co/NsHMsfSt00

— Shashi Shekhar Vempati शशि शेखर (@shashidigital) August 2, 2020

The rare video in question was broadcasted live on Doordarshan, in which Prime Minister Indira Gandhi can be heard saying, “Darul Uloom will continue to serve India and the world in true Islamic tradition.”

BJP has also come all guns blazing against Congress over the issue. It tweeted, “What do people opposing the telecast of Bhumi Pujan for the Ram Temple on DD have to say about DD broadcasting Indira’s visit to Deoband?”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1289838589346369537

CPI’s objection to live telecast

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has demanded that the use of state-run Doordarshan to telecast the Ram Temple ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ in Ayodhya on August 5 be avoided in line with the “principles of secularism and religious harmony”.

In a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, CPI Parliamentary Party leader, Binoy Viswam has contended that the use of Doordarshan to broadcast the religious function at Ayodhya on August 5 is contrary to the accepted norms of national integrity. He said the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the subsequent mobilization around the Ram Janbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya “has been a source of conflict and disharmony in the country for decades now”.