MP's Cong govt to organise Ramleela in all 378 civic bodies

The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh will organise annual Ramleela in towns and cities administered by municipal bodies and build stage for the popular Ramayan-based event, a minister has said.

Ramleela is among the most popular forms of religious theatre in the country, especially in north India, and centres around tales of Lord Ram and Lanka king Ravan. It is organised during the annual Dussehra festival.

Making the announcement at Raisen district, over 40km from here, on Monday, Urban Development and Housing Minister Jaivardhan Singh said Ramleela was an age-old tradition and keeping it alive is "our collective responsibility".

"The stage on which Ramleela will be enacted will be constructed by the Madhya Pradesh government in all 378 municipal bodies in the state.

"Ramleela is an age-old tradition and it is our collective responsibility to keep this old identity and tradition alive," Singh said while addressing a gathering at Bareli in Raisen.

"Our dream is to organise Ramleela in every local body every year. We will provide help to every city and town for this," he added.

The move is being seen as the Congress's push to claim the saffron space currently occupied by the opposition BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years before being unseated in the Assembly polls late last year.

The Kamal Nath government has already announced measures like development of the 'Ram Gaman Path', for which it sanctioned Rs 22 crore last week.

Development of the mythological route from Chitrakoot to Amarkantak, undertaken by Lord Ram during his 14 years of exile, was one of the promises made by the Congress in its 2018 Assembly poll manifesto.

The state administration has also hiked honorarium of 21,000 priests and has announced plans to issue 'pattas' (lease rights) to temples constructed on government land.

The Congress government also intends to spend Rs 300 crore to develop areas around the renowned Mahakal Temple in Ujjain.