Everyone wants a piece of Mahatma Gandhi

In a new awakening the Congress seems desperate to reappropriate the Mahatma the Sevagram Ashram trustees indicate what lies ahead for the party by saying no to the Congress jamboree even as the BJP tries to claim its share of Gandhigiri with a fourmonth programme and turning Sevagram into a worldclass heritage siteA sedate Sevagram Ashram does not get much attention from the outside world A home for many years to Mahatma Gandhi the place is revered by Gandhians The command control of the Gandhian thoughtinspired actions is moderately populated by people who take pride in the fact that their dwelling has a place of eminence in Indias history of the freedom struggle They do however wonder why Sevagram has never been treated as a world class heritage site that needed to be projected as one of Indiarsquos biggest gifts to the worldCurious tourists do visit the ashram but the footfall here does not match that at the Mahatmarsquos Sabarmati Ashram because the governments in Maharashtra the Congressled ones in particular did not appropriate the heritage space the way the Gandhians wanted The ashram and other institutes in Sevagram and Wardha which heralded a change in rural and urban areas ndash a nationbuilding concept by way of their training modules in education agriculture khadimaking swadeshi movement make in India rural governance and urban civic management were treated as useless creations they were ignored and left to fend for themselvesThe government infrastructure in Sevagram continues to be substandard even as the ashram and associated institutes make efforts on their own to make their neighbourhood peoplefriendly Visitors feel it is a heritage space that needs extraordinary ideation serious effort and major funds for conserving and showcasing it to the world The previous Congress government had taken up a project to develop the SevagramWardhaPavnar precinct but inaction on all fronts brought the project to a premature endIn news for wrong reasons There was a decade when unified India would look to Sevagram for the Mahatmarsquos announcements Many decisions on important matters and movements were taken by the Mahatma hereNow the place is in the news for all wrong reasons The Congress was denied permission to give lsquomarching ordersrsquo to the Modi government on October 2 the Mahatmarsquos 150th birth anniversary from inside the ashram Citing a preindependence resolution the trustees have told the Congress that no political events are allowed there And then came the rift in the Gandhian family The Congresssupporting Gandhians blamed the refusal on the BJPbackers in the movement particularly a section led by a senior officebearer of the ashramrsquos management Early this year the inclusion of a senior Gandhian from the Sevagram ashram on the Modi governmentcontrolled national panel had evoked a sharp reaction from fellow GandhiansSeems strange One may think how could a section of Gandhians support the BJP a party which the Congress links with ideological masters of the Mahatmarsquos killers Does this mean that certain Gandhians do not accept the Congress in its current form and find the Modiled Gandhiloving BJP as an alternative to the party that has been saying that the Mahatma cannot be skimmed off the CongressSome answers lie in the Congressrsquos history The persons now accused of joining hands with the BJP hold a grudge against the Congress because the party had not only illtreated the Gandhian institutes which were shut for allegedly receiving foreign funding during the emergency but it had also put some Gandhians in prison under MISA One such Gandhian holds a senior position in the ashramrsquos current managementBJP vs CongressEven as the Congress has been allowed to hold a working committee meeting of Rahul Gandhi his mother Sonia former PM Manmohan Singh and 100 others ndash outside the ashram at one of the Gandhian institutes the BJP has also got going in the name of the Mahatma Maharashtrarsquos BJP government has reformed the Congressideated project which hadnrsquot taken off then under the Sevagram Development Plan The state and Centre have sanctioned a huge amount for the project to transform the place into a world class heritage memorialA segment of the project will be unveiled on October 2 the day the Congress president and his mother will address party seniors and the Congressloving janata asking them to bring Modi down from his pedestal In the morning the BJP would have started a statewide Mahatma Gandhi SwachhtaSamvad Padayatra cleanlinesscommunication march in the 288 Assembly segments The yatra will last till January 30 the Mahatmarsquos death anniversaryConceptualised to reach out to at least 900 out of 1800 voting booths ahead of the Lok Sabha elections the BJPrsquos Gandhi Yatra will see the ministers MPs and legislators impress upon the voters how their party has been implementing the Mahatmarsquos vision of lsquoSwadeshirsquo through lsquoMake in India Make in Maharashtrarsquo and lsquoSwachh Bharatrsquo missionsIt is now nothing but a battle for owning a copyright to the father of the nation Good that the name Mahatma Gandhi still remains relevant to the country that dreams of rolling into a better tomorrow But it would have been best if the Mahatmas thoughts too were taken as seriouslyDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates