Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the Assam authorities prevented him from visiting Batadrava Satra Temple, the birthplace of 15th-century scholar and reformer Srimanta Sankardeva in Nagaon, NDTV reported.
“We want to visit the temple,” Gandhi said. “What crime have I committed that I cannot visit the temple? We don’t want to create any problems, we simply want to pray at the temple.”
On Sunday, the management committee of the temple had urged the Congress MP not to visit it till the Ram temple in Ayodhya was consecrated. Gandhi was scheduled to offer prayers at the shrine as part of Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, or India Justice and Unity March, is the second large-scale outreach programme of Congress, in which Gandhi is slated to travel 6,200 km across 15 states. He will cover Assam between January 18 and January 25.
The shrine management committee said that on Monday, many devotees would visit the site on the occasion of the consecration.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also urged Gandhi not to visit the shrine while the ceremony was underway, claiming that it would bring the state “into a bad light”. He also said that there “should not be any competition between the Ram temple and Batadrava”.
After he was denied entry on Monday, Gandhi began a sit-in protest in Nagaon, asking if Modi will now decide who will visit the temple.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh alleged that the temple management committee was pressured by the Assam chief minister to change its decision on letting Gandhi visit.
Ramesh said that the party had conveyed to the committee Gandhi’s desire to visit the temple on January 11 through Congress MLAs Shibomani Barua Rana Goswami. He said that the committee had “welcomed and supported” Gandhi’s desire.
The Congress MP from Kaliabor, Gaurav Gogoi, said that he visited the temple on behalf of Gandhi after he was denied permission by the police who cited law and order and a pre-scheduled programme.
“The fact is the opposite because there was no programme taking place,” he alleged.
Also read:
‘I want to save democracy’: Why even former critics of the Congress joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra
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