Invoking Hanuman: AAP to Begin Organised Sunderkand Recitals in Delhi ahead of Ayodhya Ram Temple Event

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will organise ‘Sunderkand paths’ in every assembly constituency of Delhi on January 16, just six days ahead of the grand pran pratishtha (consecration) ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Sunderkand (a section of the Ramayana) along with the Hanuman Chalisa, composed by sage Valmiki, is considered by believers to be a powerful prayer to ward off adversity and usher in positive energy.

“Tomorrow, that is on the 16th, which happens to be a Tuesday, in all Vidhan Sabhas in Delhi, AAP with its office bearers, MLAs, and councillors will organise the Sunderkand path (recital),” said minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, who went on to invite the people of Delhi to participate in the programme in a big way. “As you all know, the party and its MLAs used to organise Sunderkand paths at different levels in various legislative assembly constituencies of Delhi. The party has rebuilt its organisation in Delhi, and along with it the programme of Sunderkand paths will be run in a structured fashion.”

Elaborating further, Bhardwaj said that while many AAP legislators have organised Sunderkand paths from time to time, now the party has decided that this will be done in a more organised way. “Every month, on Tuesday, at the level of the Vidhan Sabha, then at the ward level, and then at the mandal level, this programme will be held. This means that the programme will be held at 2,600 places,” said the Delhi minister.

Sunderkand forms the heart of Valmiki’s Ramayana and consists of a detailed, vivid account of Hanuman’s adventures.

Bhardwaj underscored that the Sunderkand or Hanuman Chalisa recital in various mandals in Delhi will be organised by the party on the first Tuesday of every month.

“On behalf of AAP, I am congratulating all the people in the country that pran pratishtha is happening at the Ram Mandir. This is a matter of great happiness and great pride. We are all very happy,” said Bhardwaj.

According to sources, AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has received a letter asking him to block his dates for the pran pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya. Asked whether the CM had received an invitation and would travel to Ayodhya, Bhardwaj said, “The moment a decision is made, you will be informed,” adding that Kejriwal had not received any invite.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is following a special 11-day religious practice, including fasting and vows, ahead of the grand Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22 where he will be present. Vedic rituals for the pran pratishtha event will begin on January 16. The run-up to the ceremony has witnessed intense politics, with the BJP panning the Congress and some other opposition parties for deciding to skip the event.

Arvind Kejriwal had declared himself to be a “Hanuman bhakt (devotee)” ahead of the 2020 assembly polls in Delhi. Immediately, after the results were declared, the AAP convener’s first stop was the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place. Speaking in the Delhi assembly the same year, Kejriwal had declared his commitment to building a Ram Rajya in Delhi and defined it as embodying ten principles, which included free and good quality education, healthcare, and women’s safety, apart from other things.

The chief minister has already visited Ayodhya and the nearby Hanumangarhi temple in October 2021. Ayodhya already figures in the list of pilgrim places that elderly citizens of Delhi are entitled to visit for free through a programme organised by the government. The Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, as it is known, is one of the AAP government’s most popular programmes.

While many INDIA bloc allies like the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Trinamool Congress (TMC) have refused to go to the pran pratishtha ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram Temple while calling it a “BJP event”, AAP has said the question of whether it would attend or not is hypothetical as it has not received an invitation yet.