The ruling Congress party in Rajasthan plans to beautify important pilgrimage sites in an effort to counter the BJP’s “politics of polarization.”
There is no denying that the Udaipur incident triggered the politics of polarization, as the atmosphere in Rajasthan was quite tense. The BJP accuses the Congress of playing politics of appeasement. Congress’s concern is that the pro-people decisions of the Gehlot government may be overshadowed by the politics of polarization. With this in mind, the Gehlot government has decided to beautify various important pilgrimage places in the state. According to congress strategists, this move will send a different message to the people. To begin with, the party has first picked the temple of Lord Brahma in Pushkar. This is the only temple in India dedicated to the Hindu creator god Brahma. Preparations are afoot to get the temple and its surroundings renovated and beautified like Ayodhya. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) Chairman, Dharmendra Rathore, has personally decided to look after this project. He wants to ensure that the place and lake are much cleaner for the Hindu pilgrims who come to this place from across the country, and they can go to every spot of the temple. Presently, there is no access to every nook and corner of the temple due to the renovation work. Tourists will be attracted by grand “aarti” like Varanasi, Haridwar, and Rishikesh. There are several other historical Hindu temples in Rajasthan. Shrinathji, Sanwariya Seth, Lord Ganesh of Dungriji, Govind Dev, Mehndiji Balapur, Salasar Balaji, Khatu Shyam, Karni Mata, Ramdevra, etc. are some of these temples which are centres of attraction for pilgrims from India and abroad. But the arrangements around these temples leave a lot to be desired. So, the Congress government in Rajasthan has started renovating these places, which will send some message to the Hindu community. Pushkar is quite important as the pilgrims perform “tarpan” here and take a dip in the Pushkar lake as well. The reference to Pushkar Lake is found in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Dharmendra Rahtore said that while visiting the temple at Pushkar, he found various parts in a dilapidated condition. The state government sought permission from the Archaeological Survey of India to get it renovated as the temples fall under the jurisdiction of the ASI. The ministers concerned, Arjun Meghwal and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, are from Rajasthan. So, they were asked to get permission for the same, he added. Rathore further said that the central government has finally given its nod for renovation. Pushkar will be beautified like Ayodhya now.
He said that other temples will also be renovated after the Brahma Temple in Pushkar. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has taken various people-friendly decisions like the old pension, health scheme, urban employment guarantee, loan waiver for farmers, waiver on power bills, etc. But attempts are being made to disturb the communal harmony of the state so that these decisions can not be popularized, he alleged, adding that the Congress government will not allow the divisive politics to succeed. Undeniably, the Gehlot government has made some good decisions, but these are getting overshadowed by communal incidents. If the government’s campaign to renovate and deck up pilgrimage centres succeeds, it will be beneficial for the Congress.
