The Hindu : Belligerent mood in Waghela camp

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2002

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Belligerent mood in Waghela camp

By Manas Dasgupta

PHAGWEL (GUJARAT) SEPT. 3. Even as the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi's "Gaurav rath yatra" was further postponed by one more day, the pradesh Congress president, Shankarsinh Waghela, showed his belligerent mood paving the way for a possible confrontation with the ruling party workers.

Breaking his 24-hour fast outside the Bhathiji Maharaj temple in Phagwel village this afternoon, Mr. Waghela called upon his Kshatriya followers not to allow the BJP leaders to enter the temple and "reject" Mr. Modi's rath yatra.

Judging from the mood of the "Bhathi Sainiks" and their unflinching loyalty to Mr. Waghela, a confrontation with the BJP workers can still not be ruled out if they try to enter the Bhathiji temple for a "darshan" before Mr. Modi launched his rath yatra.

Mr. Modi, who was originally scheduled to launch the rath yatra from the same temple today, had earlier postponed it till September 7 to avoid a confrontation with the supporters of Mr. Waghela, who had his religious ceremony of "Dhwajarohan" in the temple fixed for the day.

The state BJP president, Rajendrasinh Rana, said today that the rath yatra had been further postponed by a day to September 8 because Saturday was the day of "Amavasya'' (new moon day) and was also the last day of the auspicious "Shravan'' month when most of the villages in the region organise "melas" and other religious ceremonies.

Though the BJP had planned to start the rath yatra from the outskirts of Phagwel and send only a small group of leaders to the Bhathiji temple for a "darshan'' before its launch, Mr. Waghela's call to his supporters is likely to create a situation of confrontation if Mr. Modi tries to enter the temple. Any attempt to force his way to the temple with the help of the security forces will not be appreciated by the large Kshatriya community who regard Bhathiji Maharaj as the presiding deity.

Mr. Waghela, who began his 24-hour token fast on Monday in protest against the alleged "police repression" on his supporters in Phagwel and surrounding villages, broke his fast and participated in the "Dhwajarohan" ceremony at the temple before addressing a huge gathering of people who converged from various parts of central and north Gujarat districts on the occasion.

Launching a frontal attack on the BJP, Mr. Waghela referred to the reported move by the ruling party to open some 60,000 slaughter houses in the country at a cost of about Rs. 2,000 crores and said the party which begged for votes in the name of "Hindutva" had neither any touch with the religion nor had remained "Gaubhakta" (respect to cows). "These people have no right to enter any religious place," he said and called upon his supporters not to allow the BJP leaders to enter the temple of Bhathiji, who sacrificed his life for protecting cows. If the Congress comes to power, "we will not allow opening of a single slaughter house in the State,'' he declared.

Ridiculing the BJP, Mr. Waghela said memorials were constructed for those who sacrificed their lives for a good cause.

"Have you ever seen a memorial of any BJP leader", he asked. He said the BJP was "cheating people" in the name of religion but now it was going beyond people's tolerance. The BJP Government working for breaking the society was a "shame" for the entire country, he said and asked the people to take a "pledge" to remove such a Government.

Reiterating his demand that Mr. Modi's "gaurav rath yatra'' — which he described as "kalank (shame) rath yatra,'' — should be cancelled altogether, Mr. Waghela also demanded the removal of the caretaker Ministry and imposition of President's rule in the State.

The BJP Government had failed to generate additional employment or add to power generation. Mr Waghela also promised Rs. 900-a-month pension scheme for widows and several employment-generation schemes if the Congress was voted to power in the State.

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Belligerent mood in Waghela camp