Mumbai, Oct 18 (IANS) The Congress party on Saturday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have, for years, misused religion, national identity and hollow nationalism for political power and now they have gone further to open a market for gods, deities and icons, trading the pride and identity of the people in the name of corporate Hindutva.

The state party spokesman, Sachin Sawant, told reporters that “The BJP’s Hindutva has now become completely corporate. In their greed for money, they have insulted our gods, revered deities and national icons who contributed immensely to this country. The station named Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus has now been renamed Kotak Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Siddhivinayak station has become ICICI Lombard Siddhivinayak, Mahalaxmi is HDFC Life Mahalaxmi, and Acharya Atre station has been branded as Nippon India MF Acharya Atre. This is a shameful game played with our identity and emotions.”

He demanded that BJP leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, immediately explain their position on this gross insult. “Those who do politics in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj must answer — how can they allow the prefix ‘Kotak’ before the name of our revered king? The Congress Party and the self-respecting people of Maharashtra will never tolerate such desecration of our icons,” he warned.

Sawant further said that the BJP, since the last 11 years, has been deliberately diverting public attention from burning issues such as farmers’ distress, unemployment, inflation, and women’s safety by indulging in the politics of renaming and identity. The BJP’s version of Hindutva thrives on hatred and division; they are cooking their politics of power on the stove of religious intolerance.

He added: “They renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj, Faizabad as Ayodhya, Rajpath as Kartavya Path, and Racecourse Road as Lok Kalyan Marg — also their allergy to names like Nehru and Gandhi continues. They removed Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s name from the Nehru Science Centre and Sanjay Gandhi’s name from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park Station. These names are part of our national and public heritage — and the BJP has shamelessly put them up for sale. They have turned our pride, faith, and history into a marketplace.”

Sawant remarked sarcastically: “Perhaps the only ones left are Kalbadevi and Sheetaladevi stations — and soon this government may go begging before corporates to auction those names as well. After selling airports, ports, public sector undertakings and government land to corporate houses, now even gods and great leaders are being commercialised.”

He said: “By selling the names of temples and deities, the BJP has exposed the hypocrisy of its so-called ‘Sanatan’ Hindutva. For power, they exploit identity; but once in power, they surrender that very identity at the feet of corporates. The BJP has poured water over religion, pride, and culture — all for corporate interests. This is not Hindutva — this is Corporate Hindutva, and Maharashtra will resist it with full strength.”

–IANS

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