BHOPAL: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday began the ‘Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra’ from Ujjain, embarking on a 930-km padayatra to the Ram temple in Ayodhya that is expected to take around 70 days.
Singh said the yatra aims to seek transparency in temple offerings and the management of religious places, an impartial probe into cases of donation theft, and public awareness about what he calls “vote theft”. He said the march would also carry the message of truth, justice and accountability alongside religious faith.
The yatra began on Vijayadashami amid Vedic chants, bhajans and cheers from hundreds of sadhus and saints who had gathered from across the country. The march was led by sadhus and saints as it departed from the city.
Accompanied by his wife, Amrita Rai, the septuagenarian Congress leader began the day by visiting several temples. He offered prayers at the Chintaman Ganesh temple, sought blessings at the Mahakaleshwar temple and visited the Harsiddhi temple.
He later participated in a ritual at Balaji Garden near Narsingh Ghat, where numerous earthen Shivlingas were made and worshipped to Vedic mantras, followed by bhajans and aarti.
The yatra comes months after the controversy over alleged thefts at the Ayodhya Ram temple.
“Throughout the Yatra, we’ll discuss with the people, the main issues – transparency in temple offerings and management of religious places, impartial probe into cases of donation theft and public awareness on Vote Chori (vote theft),” Singh maintained while talking to journalists in Ujjain, which is also the home city of present MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav.
The yatra targets travelling about 15 km a day. Singh, who had been practising 8 km walks daily, is expected to enter Uttar Pradesh by November 25. The first halt is Kanipura in Ujjain district. The march will then head towards Shajapur district via Sinduriya, Tarana and Kanasia, with dinner and an overnight stay on day one planned at Shri Sai Kunj Colony on Tarana Road.
In Madhya Pradesh, the route also covers Shajapur, Sarangpur, Khujner, Rajgarh, Chachaura, Aron, Ashoknagar and Chanderi. In Uttar Pradesh, it passes through Talbehat, Jeron, Chirgaon, Orai, Kalpi, Kanpur Dehat, Lucknow Dehat and Barabanki before ending at Ayodhya.
A special chariot carrying idols of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman will accompany the marchers, along with urns of water from the Ganga, Yamuna, Shipra, Kaveri and Narmada.
Supporters along the route will provide meals, tea and lodging. Local Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar said breakfast and two meals a day have been arranged at every three-km interval, and that some volunteers had to be turned away because enough people had already come forward.
The yatra has drawn support from religious figures even before it began. Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotish Peeth and Shankaracharya Swami Sadanand Saraswati of Dwarka Sharada Peeth had issued letters of blessing. Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Brahmarshi Ramakrishnanand and Santosh Dubey, an Ayodhya saint associated with the Ram temple movement, also backed it.
The Rashtriya Hinglaj Sena has extended support too. In a letter to Singh, the Sena’s national president Laxmimani Shastri called the padayatra a commendable effort to awaken the pillars of Sanatan culture: truth, compassion, justice and social harmony. “Just as his Narmada Parikrama had conveyed the message of restoring the sanctity of places of worship, this yatra would prove inspiring,” Shastri said.