Rahul Gandhi a ‘Chunavi Hindu’ : MP Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra

BHOPAL / Taking a jibe at former Congress president Rahul for his proposed visit to the religious site Mahakal temple in Ujjain during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh, state Home minister Dr Narottam Mishra on Saturday said him a ‘Chunavi Hindu’ (electorally Hindu).

Dr Mishra who also holds Jail, Law and Parliamentary affairs portfolios in Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s cabinet said in his daily press briefings in Bhopal that Rahul Gandhi visited Hindu religious sites only when elections were around the corner.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra – Congress’ outreach campaign being led by its Wahanad MP Rahul will enter the state from Burhanpur district on 21st November and will travel through Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Ujjain and Agar Malwa. From Agar, it will exit the state. The Yatra will stay in MP for 14 days. During the Yatra Gandhi will pay a visit to the Mahakal temple in Ujjain and will address a huge public rally there. He will also visit Mhow, the birthplace of Dr B R Ambedkar.

“He is an electorally Hindu and wherever elections conduct he will visit temples there. During the Yatra, he passed through the Meenakshee and Rameshwaram temples but did not visit these religious sites”, Spokesperson of the state cabinet Dr Mishra replied to reporters. “The polls are scheduled in MP next year so he will remember the temples and Babasaheb. Rahul Baba, the public understands everything election results of Gujrat and Himachal Pradesh will explain the real meaning of your Yatra”, Mishra added.

Dr Mishra has not only carved a distinct image of himself as a hardliner of Hindutva ideology but also emerged as the public face of a more aggressive turn taken by Chouhan’s government since it returned to power in 2020.

BJP in Madhya Pradesh has geared up the Hindutva agenda keeping in mind the next year’s Assembly elections. The inauguration of the Mahakal Lok corridor, coasting Rs 856 crores by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered a big step for promoting this agenda. Former CM and PCC chief Kamal Nath claimed that he had sanctioned the Mhakal project and allocated Rs 300 crores.