Rahul Gandhi welcomed in Amethi amid chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’

FURSATGANJ (RAE BARELI): Congress workers in the Nehru-Gandhi bastion of Amethi-Rae Bareli welcomed party president Rahul Gandhi on Monday with Shiv bhajans and chants of “Har Har Mahadev”, seeing him as a devotee of Lord Shiva after his return from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
Mount Kailash, which tradition holds as the home of Lord Shiva, even served as a backdrop on most hoardings put up to greet Rahul on his first visit to Amethi since his pilgrimage.
Kanwariyas affiliated to the Kanwariya Sangh wore saffron and danced to remixes of Shiva bhajans played on speakers at the roadside event near Nahar Kothi crossing in Fursatganj as they waited to seek Rahul’s blessings on his return from Kailash.
The kanwariyas said it was a matter of pride for them to have Rahul as one of their own. “Hum bhi Shiv bhakt hain... aur woh bhi... Itne bade neta ho kar bhi woh hamare dharm bhai hain(We both are Shiv bhakts... We are happy that such a tall leader is one of us),” said Santosh Kumar of Tiloi who has taken a pledge to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar yatra.
Local leaders attacked the BJP-RSS monopoly on the Hindu religion amid slogans of“Har Har Mahadev” and “ Jai Shiv Shankar”.
“ Bhagwan kisi ek ke nahi hain... Woh hamare bhi utne hi hain jitne unke (God doesn’t belong to any one person. He is as much ours as theirs),” Avadhesh Singh said to a huge round of applause from the crowd.
When Rahul arrived around noon, he walked up to the portrait of Lord Shiva and offered flowers amid the blowing of conches. Kanwariyas and party workers shouted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Toofanon mein andhi mein... vishwas hai Rahul Gandhi mein”.
The priest engaged for the event applied a sandalwood paste “ tripund”and “roli” on Rahul’s forehead as he stood with folded hands amid the chanting of mantras.
The workers presented Rahul a Lord Shiva memento and a red embroidered stole.
Rahul was welcomed at seven places by the time he reached Malik Mohammed Jaisi Memorial Ground to dedicate mobile electricity transformers from his MP local area development fund.