National Congress Party (NCP) MP from Maharashtra Amol Kolhe’s poem in Parliament taking a jibe at the central government over the alleged politicisation of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya has gone viral on social media. The MP was participating in a debate over President Droupadi Murmu’s address to Parliament on Friday.

The video has been largely shared by politicians as well, with Indian Youth Congress president BV Srinivas saying, “Sansad mein goonji is aawaz ko ant take suniye (Listen to this voice that resonated in Parliament till the end)”.

The video starts with Amol Kolhe congratulating the country for the Ram temple inauguration. The poem then begins with: “Toh kisine kaha bina kalash ke pran pratishtha kaise hogi, kisi ne kaha jab chunav hi pran ho toh socho kaunsi pratishtha daanv pe lagi hogi (Someone asked how did the pran pratishtha ceremony take place without a kalash…someone said when the election itself is the life, imagine what prestige must be at stake)”.

“Log toh kuch kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kenha, aap jan ki baat mat sunna, sirf mann ki baat karna (People will keep saying something, it’s their job. You don’t listen to them, just express own thoughts),” Kolhe recited.

“…Yet we were happy as dreams of 500 years were coming true and the Hindu inside us had been awakened,” he added.

Bringing up all the issues in the country, Amol Kolhe went on to recite: “People started remembering things as they began climbing stairs of the temple. On the first step, we remembered inflation, while on the second, we thought of the rising unemployment in the country. On the third, we remembered the sycophancy of journalism. On the fourth the suspicious role of central agencies.”

“On every step, we were reminded of something. Somewhere there was the jumla of ₹15 lakh while on another step there was the farmers’ anger. Somewhere there was the pain of women wrestlers, while elsewhere there was the promise of two crore jobs every year. Somewhere there was communalism, elsewhere there was the face of the government favoring the corporate. Despite these truths, we kept walking like blind followers,” he said.

The NCP MP then smiled and said Ram Lalla would say: “I am today here, I was here yesterday and will be here tomorrow. As much I am in this temple, I will live in your heart…Whether you are here or not, they are here or not, the nation must survive, its Constitution must survive, its democracy must survive and this nation must remain a nation.”

“A nation is not made of buildings and bridges but from the people and the feeling of patriotism in their hearts. Every countryman wants to spend his life in an environment free of fear,” he concluded.

The Ram temple consecration ceremony took place on January 22 in a grand manner in the holy town of Ayodhya. The ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, saints, and a host of distinguished guests.

However, several opposition leaders from the Congress, TMC and CPI(M) did not turn up for the event saying that it was a “political project for electoral gains”. Hitting out at the central government, Congress in a statement had said: “Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya.”