Ahead of the high-stake lok Sabha polls 2019, back to back visits of the saffron bigwigs to the state have sparked ripples. The visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dehradun was followed by the visit of the BJP national president Amit Shah and now the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is on a two-day tour of Haridwar. Significantly, Shah first visited Haridwar and met some saints before he came to the capital to take stock of the party’s preparedness for the ensuing lS polls. Now the RSS chief is also meeting important members of the religious fraternity. Besides, the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited Haridwar on Wednesday and met some members of the religious fraternity after he met the RSS chief. Observers say that the party is intent on endearing itself to the religious fraternity in its bid to keep it emotionally tethered to it ahead of the crucial electoral battle.
Meanwhile, RSS chief arrived in the holy city on Tuesday for a series of meetings with the seer community. Bhagwat is supposed to have taken stock of the political situation in the state, though media was kept away from them. “Something seems to be cooking and it seems BJP is preparing to take on the general election while making Hindutva its principal poll plank,” said a state watcher.The meeting of the RSS chief with the leaders of the religious fraternity was hosted by Swami Awdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhada based in Kankhal.
After meeting the RSS supremo and saints at Harihar Ashram, CM said that it was just a courtesy meeting. “The saints have no reason to be unhappy with my government. Some issues are of course there on which the media misled them,” he said. He also met Dr Pranav Pandya of Shanti Kunj who was also present during the meeting of the CM with the members of the religious fraternity.
Notably, BJP president Amit Shah had visited Haridwar and met the saints there. It is learnt that when Shah sought support for the lS election while meeting Pandya the latter remained non-committal. Shah had met Avdheshanand Giri and Bharat Mata Mandir Trust founder Swami Sri Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj as part of the party’s ‘Sampark for Samarthan’ campaign.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Pandya, who is also national secretary of Acharya Sant Mahasabha, said, “A meeting was held which was attended by the seers from across the country during which issues like Ardh Kumbh mela of Allahabad 2019 and empowerment of the Dalit women came up. With the possibility of people from 175 countries visiting Kumbh Mela 2019, the fair has been declared a national heritage fair and we would present the diverse culture of the land there.”
The saints also demanded Ram Setu in southern India be declared a heritage site. The president of the Acharya Sant Mahasabha Swami Parmatmanand, Maharshi Gyananand and Acharya Bal Krishna were among those present at the meeting.
Asked about the Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming Uttarakhand visit, Pandya said, “Rahul Gandhi may visit Shanti kunj as a common man but he would not be given any special treatment.”
Meanwhile, the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat performed Rudra Abhishek at Shivalinga at Harihar Ashram on Wednesday. Swami Awdheshanand Giri informed The Pioneer that since saints had gathered for the meeting it was decided to hold an acharya santa mahasabha in the presence of the RSS chief.