Ram Madhav's ‘Akhand Bharat' remarks evoke mixed response

While some said there is nothing wrong in Ram Madhav’s statements, others opined that the latter’s comments might give a setback to the situation of friendship that is being created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Kakinada: In the wake of BJP general secretary Ram Madhav setting off a controversy with the idea of Akhand Bharat, or a greater India with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the BJP, TDP, Congress, CPM and CPI leaders, and social activists in East Godavari district debated over Ram Madhav’s remarks.

It may be recalled here that Mr. Madhav’s made these comments at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a dramatic overture to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by visiting him in Lahore.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav who hails from Amalapuram in East Godavari, rose to national level in BJP and his father was late Varanasi Suryanarayana, a well-known leader in erstwhile Jana Sangh and BJP in coastal AP.

While some said there is nothing wrong in Ram Madhav’s statements, others opined that the latter’s comments might give a setback to the situation of friendship that is being created by the Prime Minister.

Speaking to The Hans India, BJP Vizag city unit in-charge Pydah Krishna Mohan said that the concept of Akhand Bharat was more about cultural nationalism and shared cultural ethos of the sub-continent rather than politics.

“The British divided our country on religious grounds for their selfish interests but there is nothing wrong if three nations unite, said BJP East Godavari district unit president Vetukuri Suryanarayana Raju. In fact, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan were also part of Akhand Bharat, the BJP leader observed.

However, senior Congress leader Gidugu Rudraraju observed that BJP should first stop encouraging religious intolerance and then speak about Akhand Bharat. He said that East and West Germany were reunited in 1990 because of their identical heritage and culture. TDP State general secretary Yerra Venugopal Rayudu said that this sort of idea is impractical in the current political situation.

“The BJP wants to construct Ram Mandir at Ayodhya against the wishes of Muslims and in what way they can expect the cooperation with neighbouring Muslim countries,” said veteran CPM leader Dadala Subba Rao.

The BJP wants to establish Hindu Rashtra and this is evident in the discussions in Parliament on November 26 last year, observed CPI East Godavari unit secretary Tatipaka Madhu.

Dr. Aluri Vijaya Lakshmi, writer, social activist and managing trustee of Centre for Empowerment and Development of Women said that Akhand Bharat is an impractical idea.

Our Bureau