FOLLOWING THE SANĀTANA DHARMA: GREEDY ACCUMULATION OR RENUNCIATION? QUESTIONS FROM AILING DHFL FD HOLDERS TO THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

The Honourable President,

Republic of India,

Rashtrapati Bhavan,

New Delhi- 110004

Sub: Following the sanātana dharma: greedy accumulation or renunciation? A question from ailing DHFL FD Holders

Respected Sir,

First of all, please pardon my audacity to ask an odd question to your revered counsel.

The question is simple. According to reports from various sources, the ruling party’s assets are increasing by leaps and bounds. I am citing some of these reports:

1. BJP’s Declared Assets Increased By 627% in 10 Years: ADR Report
Please read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/bjp-declared-assets-grew-627-percent-in-10-years

2. BJP highest earner in FY19 at Rs 2,410 crore; TMC’s income spikes 3,628%

3. BJP’s assets increased by 22% in 2017-18, Congress’ down by 15%: ADR

Please read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjps-assets-increased-by-22-in-2017-18-congress-down-by-15-adr/videoshow/70477921.cms?from=mdr

My question is: all these donations that have contributed to the ruling party’s assets, have they been given without any conditions? If they are meant to be unconditional, does it adhere to the ethos of aparigraha (not taking unsolicited gifts) of the sanātana dharma or is it contradictory with the following two dictums of ईशोपनिषद् and संन्याससुक्त?

तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मागृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्‌ ॥

— ईशोपनिषद्

By the way of renunciation, enjoy; lust not after other’s possession like vultures (गृधः).

न कर्मणा न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैकेअमृतत्वमानशुः ।

परेण नाकं निहितं गुहायां विभ्राजदे तद्यतयो विशन्ति।। ॥१॥

— संन्याससुक्त

The way to salvation is renunciation of the worldly things (wealth, progeny etc… external material things, surrendering selfish ego, removing attachments etc.) and doing sacrifice without any expectations (i.e., niskāma karma).

This seems contradictory to me since sanātana dharma and the wealth-healthy party are antithetical to each other. Moreover, all the cases of electoral bonds, PM Cares Fund, internal activities of political parties are not subservient to the “Right to Information Act” (2005), thus, these are lacking transparency.

This type of opacity is not to be expected from a political party, which is the embodiment of the sacred sanātana dharma.

In this very context, as victims of the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) scam, we are totally bogged down by the lengthy bureaucratic procedures for repaying our rightful dues. Thus, we are the victims of financial abuse involving curtailment of universal human rights as upheld by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

We are not people with legal conflicts (“criminals”), we are FD holders of DHFL. We do not deserve such “capital” punishment for the fault of the regulatory authorities. We are not like those super-rich willful defaulters, whose 68k Crore loans were simply waived by the PSU banks. Some secular social scientists (branded as “anti-nationals”, “urban naxals” by the ruling party and its forerunners) have branded this type of economic situation as crony capitalism. They also mentioned that due to the ruling party’s collusion with some business tycoons, India is trending towards monopoly capitalism. We, as lay persons, do not know the actual technicalities of these terms.

Therefore, in conclusion, please resolve such apparent contradictions and kindly do the needful to put an end to our sleepless nights.

Yours Faithfully,

Dr. Debaprasad Bandyopadhyay

Mrs. Rupa Bandyopadhyay

Mr. Akhar Bandyopadhyay

ON BEHALF OF ALL ANGUISHED, AILING DHFL FD HOLDERS

बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय च॥

(“For the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many”)