Anup Dutta
Bhopal, May 11
Bhopal Congress Lok Sabha candidate Digvijay Singh is going temple to temple to outdo BJP’s Pragya Singh Thakur. In a battle over who is a better Hindu, the Raja of Raghogarh has visited over 83 temples, maths, gurdwaras and dargah since he began his campaign on March 26.
The two-time CM started with seeking the blessings of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. He s known to be the Swami’s devout follower. In 2017-2018, he had undertaken an arduous six-month 3,300 km padayatra to perform Narmada Parikrama (pilgrimage around the sacred Narmada river) on the advice of his guru. Attacking BJP’s Hindutva agenda, Digvijay says: “The BJP remembers Lord Rama only during elections. Ramlala is still sitting in a tent while the BJP has built a lavish office in Delhi. They did not construct temple for Lord Rama,” he tells a crowd.
He has addressed over 51 public meetings, attended 39 public functions and has had 38 meetings with representatives of different communities.
The BJP candidate, kicked off her campaign with a visit to Chintaman Ganesh Temple in Sehore district and the Mahakaal Temple in Ujjain on April 19. She has visited over 22 temples, maths and gurdwaras, addressed 12 public meetings and attended four huge public functions. She especially attended several marriage functions on akshay trithiya (when one does not have to consult an astrologer for marriage).
In her election campaign, she hits out on her opponent, saying, “Digvijay Singh has already caused irreparable damage to the state as CM, and he is now trying to mislead voters. We need to mobilise and organise Hindus to teach a lesson to people like him. Anti-nationalism is part of Congress’ syllabus”. At Idgah Hills in Bhopal, she makes an interesting observation. “Those who were with the BJP used to be nationalists but have turned anti-national after joining the Congress.”
Campaigning has had religious undertones at both BJP and Congress rallies. For long, the saffron party has been accused by the Congress of promoting a religion-centric campaign, relying on Bhopal’s majority Hindu population, which stands at more than 62%. Bhopal goes to the polls on May 12. The BJP won the seat in 1989 and has since retained it eight times in a row.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2VjHjrM
via Today’s News Headlines
No comments: