BJP, Congress Intensify Battle Over Lord Hanuman As Assembly Polls Near In MP

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan offers prayer at Jam Sawli Hanuman Temple in Chhindwara district on August 24 (ANI Photo)

Bhopal: With around two months left before Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls, a race is on between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress with both making all-out efforts to prove themselves as the bigger devotee of Lord Hanuman.  On Tuesday, Congress workers held ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ recital programmes across Madhya Pradesh, including at the party headquarters in Bhopal.

According to a press statement, Congress workers recited ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ in different parts of the state, including Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh and many other districts.

Interestingly, the Congress is claiming that such steps are being taken to give a befitting reply to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s claim that the “idol of Hanuman in Chhindwara wasn’t established by Kamal Nath".

Terming Chouhan’s claim as "completely false", the Congress workers not only recited ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ across the state, but also recited ‘Sunderkand’ from Tulsidas' 'Ramcharitmanas'.

To counter Chouhan’s claim, the Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress has released detailed information with photographs of Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath -- right from the foundation laying ceremony to the inauguration of the Hanuman temple in Chhindwara’s Simariya locality.          

In a date-wise information released on Tuesday, the state Congress claimed, “Kamal Nath along with his son and Chhindwara MP Nakul Nath did Bhumi Pujan on October 25, 2012. A process of Pran Pratishtha of the 101 feet idol of Lord Hanuman was done on December 11, 2014. And the inauguration ceremony was held on February 22, 2015.”

Last month, Chhindwara MP Nakul Nath had organised a four-day long ‘Hanuman Katha’ programme by Dhirendra Shastri, the 'Peethadhish' of the Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, a religious pilgrimage site in Chhatarpur district. 

In a bid to counter Kamal Nath’s ‘Hanuman Bhakt' image, CM Chouhan during a visit to Chhindwara a couple of days back had laid the foundation for the 'Hanuman Lok', saying that the project would be similar to the ‘Mahakal Lok’ in Ujjain.

“Hanuman Lok will become a centre of spiritual and cultural consciousness in India. With the blessings of Lord Ram, the Hanuman Lok is being established in Chhindwara district. I am confident that just like Mahakal Lok, Hanuman Lok will also emerge as a centre of faith for millions of devotees. I pray for the blessings of Lord Hanuman for all the residents of the state,” Chauhan had said.

In the first courtyard of Hanuman Lok, Lord Hanuman’s childhood days will be depicted through artworks and sculptures covering an area of approximately 90,000 square feet.

The second courtyard will see the portrayal of Lord Hanuman in ‘devotional form’ through sculptures and artworks covering an area of around 62,000 square feet.