In what may be viewed by some as part of the Congress’ “soft Hindutva” approach, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay has written a letter to the Chief Minister Harish Rawat submitting his demand for naming the Dehradun airport at Jolly Grant after the Adi Guru Shankaracharya.
According to the PCC, in the letter written to Chief Minister Harish Rawat, the PCC chief has stated that the the land of Uttarakhand has the distinction of being considered Devbhoomi—the land of gods.
Upadhyay further states in his letter, “For many centuries now, the Dev Bhoomi of Uttarakhand has been the land of the birth and also the land of the karma of great personalities and sages of whom Adi Guru Shankaracharya is also one. In order to keep the memory of the visionary and great seer Adi Guru Shankaracharya intact and unbroken, the Dehradun airport at Jolly Grant should be named after ‘ Anant Srivibhusit Adi Guru Shankaracharya’. The glory of the State and its grandeur is a result of the blessings of Adi Guru Shankaracharya.”
lakhs of devotees arrive in Uttarakhand every year to earn the merit of visiting the various holy sites. Considering this, naming the Dehradun airport after ‘Adi Guru Shankaracharya’ will further enhance the prestige of the State.
The PCC Uttarakhand chief went on to point out the example of how the air-conditioned express train plying regularly between Dehradun and Delhi was renamed the Nandadevi Express to support the demand raised by him to name the Dehradun airport after Adi Shankaracharya. Upadhyay also reiterated his request to Harish Rawat to get the necessary work done to name the Dehradun airport after Adi Shankaracharya.
Political analysts are of the opinion that the latest among the range and demands and issues raised by the PCC chief at a time when ‘disagreements’ between Upadhyay and Rawat have been at least downplayed a bit after the central leadership of the Congress party called the two leaders, reportedly directing them to avoid making their differences known prominently with the PCC chief purportedly being accorded precedence above the Chief Minister from the Congress party’s organisational point of view.
The demand raised by Upadhyay for naming Dehradun airport after Adi Shankaracharya is being seen as a move aimed at boosting the “soft-Hindutva”stance of the Congress especially with an eye on the coming Vidhan Sabha elections.
It should be mentioned here that difference of opinion between the PCC chief and CM have not been uncommon in the past couple of years and the latest demand, though not a ‘problematic’ issue, may pose some probable quandary for the Chief Minister, said a party insider on condition of anonymity.