Uproar rises over Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij’s statement

An uproar has started over a statement given by Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij regarding Diwali. Anil Vij wrote on a social media site saying—”When the festival of Diwali is celebrated to celebrate the return of Shri Ram to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile, then why is the idol of Shri Ram not seen in every shop on Diwali.”

Vij further wrote—”One thing I don’t understand is that people celebrate Diwali because of Shri Ram ji’s return to Ayodhya after 14 years, but they worship Lakshmi ji. Even in the market, the idol of Lakshmiji is available in every shop but the idol of Ramji is available in some shops. The question arises why so? If Lord Ramji becomes happy then everything else comes automatically.”

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have raised questions regarding his statement. AAP party President in Haryana and Rajya Sabha MP, Sushil Gupta has said “Vij Saheb, religion is a voluntary subject of the people. You have no right to tell or teach people how to celebrate festivals. When everyone is positive and worshiping Goddess Lakshmi Ji for happiness, prosperity and peace on a great festival like Diwali and Mother Sita is the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi Ji.”

Attacking Vij, Gupta also said that “the ministers of BJP, the so-called contractor of Hindu religion, are insulting Goddess Lakshmi ji by creating doubt among the people regarding the holy festival like Diwali. BJP, which bakes political bread in the name of Ram, can do wrong to any extent by creating doubt among the people in the name of religion. The ideals of Lord Ram are prevalent all over the world and by paralyzing the Health Ministry, you have left the people of Haryana at the mercy of God; you are the one disobeying the real Ram.”

AAP’s state Vice President in Haryana, Chitra Sarwara, while reacting to Vij’s statement, said that “if anyone else had asked the same question, he would have been called anti-Hindu. The people of Haryana are very angry with this strange statement of the Home Minister. I have spoken to many people, everyone says that Anil Vij has made wrong comments about our Gods.”