Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his entourage were stopped by authorities on their way to Batadrava Than in Assam's Nagaon on Monday. Gandhi attempted to visit the holy pilgrimage site early today morning, even after being told to visit only after 3 pm.
Speaking on the occasion, the Congress leader, who is heading his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra presently in Assam, said, "I don't understand why I am being stopped. Probably, only one man can go to a temple today."
This comes after the Batadrava Than management committee president had on Sunday requested Rahul Gandhi to reschedule his visit and arrive only after 3 pm as his visit would clash with the Ram Mandir consecration event.
However, refuting the narrative, Congress' general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, who is alongside Rahul Gandhi on the Yatra, said, "Rahul Gandhi wanted to visit it (Batadrava Than). We have been trying since January 11. Two of our MLAs visited and met with the Satra committee and informed them that we will visit on January 22 at 7 am. We were told that we are welcome. Then suddenly, yesterday we were told that we cannot come before 3 pm. So, this is the pressure exerted by the state government, because yesterday itself the chief minister announced that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra can arrive here only after 3 pm, which was parroted by the Satra committee."
"We respect that, however, we will still try to enter because it will be difficult for us to come back after we have gone ahead about 100 kilometers on our Yatra. Rahul Gandhi's only wish is to pay his tributes and seek blessings from Srimanta Shankardeva, spend about 10 minutes and head on for the Yatra. Others carry out their political agenda veiled under the guise of religion, but Congress and Rahul Gandhi are not allowed to do. So, we will not create any ruckus, and maintain peace at all costs. However, it is evident that the Assam chief minister is rattled and he does not want us to visit and pay our homage to the great saint-scholar," added Jairam Ramesh.
While, Rahul Gandhi had not arrived at the time Ramesh gave the statement, he did so a while later, only to be stopped by security personnel present on the site.
A visibly frustrated Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi insinuating that only he can visit a temple today.
