It is Ram Navami today. While most politicians have wished the masses on the occasion over social media, the ‘Chiraag’ of the Kaul-Dattatreya gotra, Nehru’s royal descendant, Rahul Gandhi is yet to wish. Not only Rahul, even his sister Priyanka Vadra, perhaps tired from recent havans and pujas performed in Raebareli with her mother, is yet to wish too.
While Rahul had tweeted about his visit to the Jaliyanwala bag massacre memorial, he is yet to wish people on one of the most important Hindu festivals. Even his sister Priyanka, who has been recently taking a lot of care to appear Hindu, be it putting a ‘Pallu’ over her head or wearing Hindu accessories, doing havans and temple hopping, marking the election season with all pomp and glory, is yet to wish people for the occasion of Ram Navami, the birthday of Lord Ram.
Rahul was declared to be a Janeudhari Brahmin. Before the Gujarat, Karnataka and the 5-state assembly elections in December, he was seen hopping temples and Hindu ashrams with a surprising intensity. He had even visited the Kailash-Mansarovar, the lake in Tibet which is revered as a sacred place by Hindus. His lack of concern for the festival of Ram Navami has also been highlighted by some Twitter users.
https://twitter.com/ShefVaidya/status/1117036700176306177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/vipul2777/status/1117029628537864192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The absence of wishes on Ram Navami is especially curious because, on the occasions of Eid and Chrismas, Rahul Gandhi has been rising and shining like a chirpy bird quite early in the day.
Rahul had recently chosen Kerala’s Wayanad as his second Lok Sabha seat. Wayanad, a Hindu minority constituency, has been awash with green flags upon Rahul’s visit. Perhaps, by ignoring a communal, Hindutvavadi, RSS-loved festival like Ram Navami, Rahul is hoping to send a very secular and peaceful message to his new electorate back in God’s own country.