Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern at the blurring line between politics and religion, after India’s prime minister Narendra Modi officiated as the ‘yajman’ or patron at arguably the most high-profile Hindu religious event held in independent India.
“Indian secularism means the separation of religion and state. We even have a strong tradition of maintaining that separation. However, of late, the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be getting thinner and thinner. This is a major departure from the times when our constitutional office bearers have been cautioned from taking part in religious events, as it would cast aspersions on our credentials as a secular state,” Vijayan said in a statement.
The statement comes after the culmination of developments that have seen a lot of build-up in recent days. Today, a new temple was consecrated at Ayodhya on a spot where a 500-year-old mosque used to stand till 1992. The Babri Masjid was brought down by a mob assembled by political leaders, notably LK Advani of the BJP.
“Religion is a private affair and the Indian Constitution has minced no words in stating that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and have the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion.
“As those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of India, we ought to ensure that every person within our territories enjoys this right in equal measure. At the same time, we cannot be promoting one religion above all others, or demean one religion beneath every other,” Vijayan added.
