New Delhi: With the beginning of the Diwali celebrations on the occasion of Dhanteras on Tuesday, a section of BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and constituents of its ideological parent Sangh Parivar in Madhya Pradesh have sparked a controversy demanding that ‘Sanatanis’ make purchases only from their “own people”.
Leading the charge is the BJP’s state incharge for Assam and former MP Harish Dwivedi who has urged ‘Sanatanis’ to make purchases from only shopkeepers belonging to their own community as an answer to extremists of another community.
In an ‘X’ post Monday, Dwivedi wrote that according to Sanatan dharm, everyone purchases new items in their capability.
“This is a belief of Sanatan dharm that everyone purchases a new item according to his or her capability on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. Friends, you all are aware that presently, extremists with sinful mentality are calling upon (their community) to make any kind of purchase from shops belonging to people of their own community. I request all you Sanatani brothers that the correct answer to such extremists would be that you make all purchases from the shops of Sanatani brothers only….Hindu tan man Hindu jeevan..rag rag Hindu mera parichay,” he wrote.
Later, Dwivedi told ThePrint that at a time when videos are going viral of members of a particular community spitting into food items and selling them, the perfect answer from Hindus will be to boycott the items being sold by members of another community.
“This will be the perfect message to those members of a specific community who boycott items from members of the other community that Hindus can also give an answer and boycott items from their shops. This will be a message and a lesson for them,” he said.
Dwivedi added that he purchased pooja items from two shops of Hindu shopkeepers in Basti and posted the same on ‘X’.
Asked if the BJP too supported his act, the former MP said that while he was acting in his personal capacity, BJP workers were present with him while making the purchase Tuesday.
When asked if the BJP too supports Dwivedi, a UP BJP spokesperson linked the issue with faith and cleanliness of purchased items and cited videos of members of particular community allegedly mixing food items with impurities and human faeces.
“Diwali is a festival of faith and cleanliness. Hindus celebrate it with a lot of reverence. It is a Hindu festival and one should make purchases from where one realises that his or her faith and beliefs won’t be hurt,” the spokesperson said.
“The way videos of some food sellers mixing food items with human faeces have gone viral in the past, one should ensure that when they make any purchase, their faith should remain intact. When Muslims are purchasing items which are prescribed to them, Hindus, too, should ensure that they purchase only pure items.”
In the backdrop of some vendors being arrested after their videos went viral in which they could be seen mixing urine in food items, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had warned that a law would be brought to stop such activities. Reports suggest that an ordinance would be first brought penalising such acts with 10 years of imprisonment.
While a 29-year-old vendor was arrested for allegedly selling contaminated fruit juice in Ghaziabad, a restaurant owner in Barabanki was arrested for allegedly spitting on a roti.
Earlier a controversy had erupted when the Muzaffarnagar Police issued an order directing shops and eateries along the Kanwar route to display the names of the owners before the yatra begins, causing restlessness among the hundreds of dhaba owners and inviting the ire of the Opposition. Later on a new advisory asking owners to get their names written “voluntarily” was issued.
In Bhopal, the capital of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, the Bajranj Dal put up posters with an appeal by its activists that Diwali purchases be made only from Hindu shopkeepers. This move has drawn criticism from the opposition Congress leaders in the state.
The posters put up on the streets of Bhopal read: “Apna tyohaar, apno se vyavahaar. Deepawali ki khareed unse karein, jo aapke khareedee se Deepavali manaa saken (Buy Deepawali items from those who can celebrate Diwali with your purchases)”
Jitendra Chauhan, the Prant Prachar pramukh of VHP Madhya Bharat, told ThePrint that the sentiment behind the move is that small traders should benefit from Hindu festivals.
“These small traders, hawkers who sell diyas (earthern lamps) and flowers during the festival will earn a livelihood if more people celebrating Diwali directly buy from them. This will ensure that they will also be able to celebrate Diwali at their homes in a better manner,” he said.
The posters have been put up on the first day of Diwali celebrations, Dhanteras. “Deepawali is a big festival of Sanatanis. It is the festival of Shri Ram’s arrival in Ayodhya. Diwali can be celebrated in every Hindu home, so buy goods from them only,” Chauhan said.
When asked whether this would mean buying from Hindu traders/shopkeppers, Chauhan said Diwali is celebrated by Hindus so “obviously” the move is aimed at them.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) national spokesperson Vinod Bansal suggested that this move should be seen in a positive manner and there is no Hindu-Muslim aspect to it. “The idea is that jinka tyohar unsein vyavhaar. Also, in the past we have had instances of people spitting on prasad before selling it. So, the sanctity of a religion and festival should be maintained,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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