Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi visits memorials of former PMs during Delhi-leg, pays tribute
The Congress leader offered rose petals at the memorial, named "Sadaiv Atal", and joined hands in tribute, becoming the first person from the Gandhi family to visit the memorial since the former Prime Minister passed away in 2018.
FollowCongress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday (December 26) visited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's memorial and paid tribute to the former stalwart of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi's visit to the former PM's memorial came a day after Vajpayee's 98th birth anniversary Sunday.
The Congress leader offered rose petals at the memorial, named "Sadaiv Atal", and joined hands in tribute, becoming the first person from the Gandhi family to visit the memorial since the former Prime Minister passed away in 2018.
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Rahul Gandhi's visit to the memorial was full of symbolism. On a 150-day Bharat Jodo Yatra against what the Congress leader has termed "the politics of hate and fear", Gandhi chose to visit Vajpayee's memorial in Delhi in what was perceived as an attempt to draw a distinction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
While both leaders have an RSS background, PM Modi is seen by many as a hardcore Hindutva face, while Vajpayee was perceived to be the more moderate and liberal face of the BJP and the RSS.
Though the Congress was very critical of the then Prime Minister when he was in office, the party has since been softening it's stance on Vajpayee, choosing to train its guns at who it considers Hindutva hardliners — a list which includes former deputy PM LK Advani and PM Modi.
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On Monday, Rahul also visited the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Initially, the former Congress president was scheduled to visit all the memorials on Saturday. However, the visit was later postponed to Sunday, as the "evening padyatra in New Delhi was prolonged and took more time because of the surging crowd" according to the Congress.
