Congress Has Lost Cultural Connect With People, Says Milind Deora on Ram Mandir Invite Row | Interview

The Congress should not have shunned the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ or consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 as it is not a political event, former Union minister Milind Deora who recently exited the party told News18 in an exclusive interview.

Deora, former Mumbai South MP, resigned from the primary membership of the Congress on Sunday morning, ending his family’s “55-year-old association" with the grand old party. Hours later, he joined the Shiv Sena at the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Deora later posted a statement on his social media account on X (formerly Twitter) listing reasons for quitting Congress.

In his first comments on the Congress controversially skipping the historic Ram Temple inauguration on January 22, Deora told News18 the party has “lost cultural connect with the people of India".

“The Congress has certainly lost its cultural connect with the people of India. In my opinion, the Ram Temple inauguration is the issue which has been settled after 500 years by the Supreme Court of India. This issue is not a political event. It’s not an event for the Hindu community or the Muslim community. It is an event for the world. It’s an event for humanity. The story of Ramayana transcends religion. It transcends nationality. You can argue it transcends even species. It’s a spiritual story. It’s a moral story. I don’t know why the party did what it did," Deora said.

He also criticised the Congress for “not understanding the aspirations of young India", and said he had failed to convince the party on it. “Economically, India is changing today. Indians are aware. Common people, whether they are highly educated or not highly educated, know what’s happening. Everyone has a smartphone. Everyone has an internet connection. Everyone has WhatsApp. Everyone has YouTube. Everyone has access to information. People are aware of what’s happening around the world. People have aspirations. People want to do some things. People want India to move forward. The Congress should have aligned with those aspirations with a more constructive agenda," he said.

Deora added that he was also unable to convince the Congress leadership that it should not deviate from its core stand on issues like Uniform Civil Code and Article 370.

“I was unable to convince the powers that be that the Congress should maintain its stand on certain issues. It shouldn’t deviate from its core ideology. UCC, Article 370… these are the issues that the Congress espoused back in the day and look at where the party has moved today."

Milind Deora, son of Congress veteran late Murli Deora, was said to be upset since Congress’s ally Shiv Sena-UBT staked a claim on the Mumbai South parliamentary constituency for the upcoming elections.

Deora was elected to Lok Sabha from Mumbai South in 2004 and 2009. He lost in 2014 and 2019 to Arvind Sawant who contested as a Shiv Sena (undivided) candidate on both occasions.

While admitting that his decision to part ways with Congress is deeply emotional, Deora has stated that he aspires to collaborate with a leader who values constructive ideas, acknowledges his credentials and aims to leverage his abilities in Parliament for the progress of the nation and state.

“Eknath Shinde ji believes in my potential and embodies the belief that hard work can achieve the impossible," he said.