Rajasthan Governor Anshuman Singh's proposed week long Ram Katha for the public in Jaipur for the New Year, to collect funds for drought relief, has received flak from several social and human rights bodies.
In a written complaint to President A P J Abdul Kalam, a number of organisations including People's Union for Civil Liberties said, "By organising the Ram Katha, to be presented by a star preacher Murari Bapu, the governor is misusing his constitutional post and public funds in the name of famine for specific communal politics."
The written complaint was released to the media on Tuesday and it said that holding the Ram Katha was "an insult to the secular constitution of the country".
The pink city has been flooded with big hoardings, posters and banners announcing the event to be held from January 4 to 12. It also highlights the Raj Bhawan as the ayojak [organiser] of the Ram Katha.
Large-scale preparations are in progress under the watchful eyes of government officials at Amroodon Ka Bagh, near the state secretariat, to accommodate an expected 100,000 Ram bhaktas [devotees of Ram] to listen to Murari Bapu reciting Lord Ram's story.
"We do not oppose Lord Ram or the Ram Katha. But when a person holding a constitutional office organises it for the public with government funds, his act damages the secular character of the state established under the constitution," the complaint added.
Raj Bhawan sources, however, insisted that there was nothing wrong in it as the funds generated by way of offerings at the Ram Katha would be used for helping the poor affected by drought. "No political motive should be attached to it as the governor attends functions of all religions," they said.
Meanwhile, several social and human rights organisations have announced a protest dharna on December 28 demanding the Raj Bhawan disassociate itself from the programme.
