NAGPUR Call it a game of subtle political one-upmanship, but on the day Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray put his much-hyped June 5 visit to Ayodhya on hold, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole announced that he would visit Ayodhya for darshan on June 7.
Patole said that the chief mahant of Dashrath Gadi in Ayodhya, Brijmohan Das, met him at Congress office in Mumbai last week and invited him to Ayodhya. “Patole accepted his invitation,” said Atul Londhe, the chief spokesman of state Congress, who will also accompany Patole. “It’s not a political visit, but a pilgrimage,” Londhe further said.
Addressing media persons in Nagpur on Friday, Patole said that several state Congress leaders, including some ministers, expressed their willingness to accompany him.
Maharashtra minister for tourism and environment Aaditya Thackeray is also scheduled to visit Ayodhya on June 15 and visit the ISKCON temple. “Hundreds of Shiv Sena activists will be going to Ayodhya under the leadership of Aaditya Thackeray. There is no politics behind this. This is an issue of our faith. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has also visited Ayodhya in the past and will also visit in the future. Shiv Sena shares a special bond with Ayodhya,” said Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday. However, sources said that there is a “visit Ayodhya” race among the political leaders, though many deny that the visits are to score brownie points.
Earlier, the NCP MLA Rohit Pawar had visited Ayodhya with his family. He shared photos of the visit on social media. After that, all eyes were on Raj Thackeray’s visit. Raj also tweeted about the postponement of the Ayodhya tour and wrote, “The visit to Ayodhya has been postponed. The decision will be taken after the rally in Pune on May 22.”
Raj’s change of plans comes amid stiff opposition from Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Singh, who said that the MNS chief will not be allowed to enter Ayodhya till he publicly apologises for “humiliating” the people from Uttar Pradesh and other North Indians in 2008.