Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Days after the chief priest of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Acharya Satyendra Das, extended his wishes to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Ram Temple trust’s general secretary and senior Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Champat Rai also appreciated Mr. Gandhi for his efforts.
“A 50-year-old ‘young’ man is walking in this chilling weather to know India. What else we can do if not appreciate his efforts,” said Mr. Rai said.
He added that he is a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and no one in the RSS has ever criticised the yatra.
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“Has anyone in the RSS ever criticised his yatra? Has the Prime Minister ever criticised the yatra? This young man is covering 3,000 km of India. Anyone will appreciate his efforts,” he further said.
The chief priest of Ram Temple, Mr. Das, had written a letter on December 31 to Mr. Gandhi congratulating him for Bharat Jodo Yatra.
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Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Das on Wednesday said he wrote the letter on Congress’s invitation as the party workers visited him to request his presence at the yatra on the day it entered Uttar Pradesh.
“I told them that as a religious leader, I will not support any political party. Then they asked me to at least write a letter for Rahul Gandhi. I wrote it. I don’t find any harm in congratulating him or anyone else,” he said.
In the letter, Mr. Das wrote that the work the Congress leader is doing “is for the betterment and happiness of all”. “May Lord Ram showers his blessings on you,” the letter said.