NEW DELHI: After the long secret sabbatical came the yatra. Congress Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi embarked on a pilgrimage to meet—what he described as a “fire like energy”—at the famous Kedarnath Temple. Shiva, however, could be tough to please. BJP leaders in the state aren’t impressed either. A day after Rahul returned after what his supporters and state Congress unit workers termed as “adhyaatmik” (spiritual) yatra, Haridwar MP and former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said that it would have been better had Rahul also met people affected by the 2013 flash floods in the region to know the real situation.
Pokhriyal told The Sunday Standard, “Ye Rahul Gandhi ki vyaktigat yatra thee (This was a personal visit). The doors of the Kedarnath Temple are open for everyone.” According to Pokhriyal, Rawat is using Rahul ’s visit to pat his own back. “CM is saying that he has passed the test. Who has passed him? The region is suffering. The work undertaken by the state government has been slow and below satisfactory. Rahul quietly came to visit the Dham and left. We have no problem with that. I would, however, like to point out that the last time Rahulji came to Kedarnath was during the devastating Uttarakhand floods. Many locals died and many were rendered homeless in the floods. He went to the Kedar region by a helicopter. Tab unhone kisee ki sudh nahin lee. He should have met the locals back in 2013 and now,” he adds.
At the Kedarnath Temple surrounded by the snow covered mountains and devotees, Rahul Gandhi stood next to the priest with folded hands. He explained the purpose of choosing to trek like a wise brand ambassador to the shrine.
The Congress recently sent its son to Shiva’s doorsteps in Kedarnath. The reverence for the dead was conveyed. But the anger stands unmoved. According to Ajendra Ajay, head of the Kedarnath Visthapan Va Punarvas Sangathan and a BJP leader from Rudraprayag, “Women from Gauri Gaon wanted to meet him. They could not. Where is the apathy for the flood victims? He would have known the condition of the national highway had he travelled by road instead.”
Is Rahul’s visit a move to stress his Hindu identity? Pokhriyal says,“I don’t want to comment on Rahul. For years, Congress has played caste politics of appeasement and communalism. It was because of their politics that Hindus had to leave Jammu and Kashmir. The visit has solved the purpose for the state unit.”
Rahul’s Mission Kedarnath has left a balmy effect on the state Congress unit, which seems desperate to rake in some appreciation from the party’s top echelons in Rawat’s favour. Uttarakhand Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay is ecstatic. “Bahut bhaari kaam kar gayen hain wo (Rahul Gandhi has achieved a great deal),” he says. What has his visit achieved? “The confidence of the party workers and the people of Uttarakhand has gone up by Rahulji’s visit. He has got a chance to see the good work done by the CM. Rahul Gandhi knows his facts.”
According to Pokhriyal, taking the helicopter instead of the road defeats the very purpose of Rahul ’s visit to the Kedar region. “How does taking a helicopter help? The national highway and the smaller roads are in a bad shape. Had Rahulji travelled by road, he would have become aware of the deteriorating situation. He should have passed on the feedback to the Central government to help the state.”