New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is in Assam for his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Monday said he was denied entry into a local shrine in Naogaon.
Rahul and other party leaders including Jairam Ramesh were seen singing “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” in protest, outside the Batadrava Than — the birthplace of Assamese saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva.
#WATCH | Nagaon, Assam | Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh and others sing ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ as they sit on a protest against not being allowed to visit Batadrava Than before 3 pm today. pic.twitter.com/8Y9fszZ8j0
— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024
Asked why he was denied entry, the Wayanad MP said, “I don’t know. Perhaps only one person can enter a temple today.”
The Congress leader made the comment hours ahead of the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha set to take place in Ayodhya, an invite to which the top leadership of the Congress had declined, calling it a “political project” of the BJP and RSS.
“What crime have I committed… You gave me permission. I was invited,” Rahul told officers who allegedly stopped his entry.
#WATCH | Assam | On his visit to Batadrava Than, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “We want to visit the temple (Batadrava Than). What crime have I committed that I cannot visit the temple?…” pic.twitter.com/1Y3cKs8Xn5
— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024
On Sunday, ANI had quoted Jogendra Narayan Dev Mahanta, president of the Batadrava Than Management Committee, as saying: “We are happy that Rahul Gandhi will visit the Than, but tomorrow around 10,000 people will gather here. At that time we do not want Rahul Gandhi to come here, because there may be some difficulties in the process of welcoming him. The Karnadhar Committee of Batadrava Than Management Committee has decided that he can come tomorrow after 3 pm and we will be able to give him a grand welcome. We have already informed the local MLA, District Commissioner and SP.”
Jairam Ramesh said the shrine was the birthplace of Sankardeva, a “religious guru, a social reformer, and an inspiration to crores”.
He added: “Rahul Gandhi wanted to visit Batadrava Than…We had been trying since 11 January. Two of our MLAs met the management for the same. We said we would be there at 7 am on 22 January. We were told we would be welcome. But yesterday, we were suddenly told that we can’t come there until 3 pm,” Ramesh said.
He called the “sudden development” pressure from the state government, which is ruled by the BJP.
The Vaishnava monastery was expecting a lot of people in the first half of Monday, coinciding with the pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya.
Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma had Sunday questioned Rahul’s choice of timing to visit the shrine.
“I will not ask them to avoid it officially. Police will be deployed and we will ensure there is no conflict. But don’t make it a competition with the Ram Temple. I saw a news story in the national media yesterday saying… ‘While Narendra Modi will do pran pratishtha, Rahul Gandhi will be in the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva’. That is a wrong analogy. I request Rahul to go in the evening. Please do not go in the timeframe when the pran pratishtha is going on. Do not put Assam in a bad light.”
मैं हैरान हूँ कि कल के पावन अवसर पर कॉंग्रेस सारे संवेदनशील जगहों से अपनी बस यात्रा निकाल रही है – क्योंकि उनके यात्रा में सिर्फ़ एक विशेष समुदाय भाग ले रही है।
असम पुलिस सतर्क है और यात्रा को सुरक्षा प्रदान करेगी।#PressConferenceHighlights pic.twitter.com/kSapfyiJYw
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 21, 2024
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