BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma slammed Digvijaya Singh's 'Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra', calling it a plot to defame Sanatan Dharma. The Congress hit back, stating the yatra aims to protect the faith and expose alleged corruption in temple funds.
BJP Criticises Digvijaya Singh's 'Sanatan Yatra'
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rameshwar Sharma on Wednesday criticised veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh over his ‘Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra’, alleging that the march was aimed at defaming Sanatan Dharma and pleasing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh began his ‘Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra’ from Ujjain, the city of Mahakal, on Tuesday and would cover over 930 kilometres to reach the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The key objectives of the yatra include bringing transparency in donations and offerings at religious sites and seeking impartial investigations into alleged irregularities in Ram mandir donations.
'Conspiracy to Defame Sanatan Dharma'
Reacting to the yatra, the BJP MLA also challenged the veteran Congress leader and his party to organise a march to Mathura instead. “Digvijaya Singh is not undertaking this Yatra for the sake of true Sanatan Dharma; rather, he is doing so to please Rahul Gandhi and to defame Sanatan Dharma. If Digvijaya Singh and the Congress truly had the courage, they should have organised a journey to Ayodhya back when millions of kar sevaks were struggling there, a matter that eventually reached the Supreme Court. Had they joined that cause then, we could have said that the journey was genuinely for Sanatan Dharma,” Sharma said.
The BJP leader further alleged that the yatra was part of a conspiracy to malign Sanatan Dharma, adding that he would welcome Digvijaya Singh if he chose to organise a march to Mathura. “This is a well-planned conspiracy by the Congress to defame Sanatan Dharma. Nevertheless, I would urge my friends in the Congress, and Digvijaya Singh, not to organise a journey to Ayodhya but instead to organise one to Mathura. We will join you in your service. If you have the courage, head towards Mathura. You want Sanatan Dharma to be maligned and the youth of India to stop visiting temples, but that is never going to happen,” Sharma added.
Congress Defends Yatra, Alleges Corruption
The Congress, however, defended the yatra, accusing the BJP of failing to protect religious traditions and alleging irregularities in temple funds. Responding to Sharma’s remarks, Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said the yatra was intended to protect Sanatan Dharma and expose alleged irregularities involving temple funds. “Digvijaya Singh’s yatra is being undertaken to protect Sanatan Dharma. The party that pushed aside those who took bullets to their chests, and now protecting those who allegedly looted the treasury of God, claims to be protecting Sanatan Dharma. How can they protect Sanatan Dharma? If the BJP truly believed in protecting Sanatan Dharma, the Shankaracharyas and saints would have been present at the inauguration of the Ram Temple. Instead, film stars were present. Those who had contributed money and donations were seated there, but members of the saint community were not present,” Gupta said.
“Sanatan tradition teaches that an offering should first be made to Thakurji (the deity). Was that done? Digvijaya Singh's yatra is intended to expose the alleged theft from the treasury of God and the government's attempt to protect those responsible. Send them to jail. Why are they being protected?” he asked.
The Congress spokesperson further alleged that those involved in the alleged misappropriation of temple funds were the real enemies of Sanatan Dharma, accusing them of hypocrisy despite their public claims of promoting character and nation-building. “They keep talking about character-building and nation-building throughout their lives, yet they do not even spare God and end up stealing from Him too. This yatra is intended to expose the truth that such thieves and robbers, who have stolen from God's treasury, are the biggest enemies of Sanatan Dharma. They are hypocrites and deceitful people,” said Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh resumed his yatra from Ujjain’s Shri Sai Kunj Colony on Tarana Road on Wednesday and called for those accused of misappropriating temple donations to be sent to jail and demanded that elections be conducted using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). (ANI)
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