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HomePoliticsDigvijaya Singh was missing in the Gujarat election, but not missing in...

Digvijaya Singh was missing in the Gujarat election, but not missing in action

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The Congress veteran has been traversing Gujarat on foot as part of his ‘Narmada Parikrama’ he began from his home state Madhya Pradesh on 30 Sept.

Tilakwada, Gujarat: Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh has been camping in Gujarat for the past fortnight, but it has nothing to do with the high-voltage assembly polls in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

The senior leader has been traversing the state on foot as part of his 3,300-km ‘Narmada Parikrama’ that he began from Barman Ghat, Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh, his home state, on 30 September.

“This is a spiritual yatra which I always wanted to take. The thought first came to my mind 20 years ago, in 1998. But all these years I didn’t have time,” Singh, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, told ThePrint.

“This year I requested my leader Sonia Gandhi to grant me six months’ leave to complete the yatra. This is the only time I could do it as next year there will be elections in my state,” he added.

On 13 December, a day before the last phase of the Gujarat election, Singh and his wife Amrita Rai were camping in Tilakwada, on the bank of river Narmada, 60 km southwest of Vadodara city.

A number of vehicles could be seen parked in a school compound — a big truck with food items, an ambulance, a bio-toilet van, a mini truck carrying a kalash (pitcher) containing Narmada water.

At 3.30 pm, Singh, 70, and his wife resumed their padyatra along the riverbank. As the caravan passed through dusty village roads, they greeted everyone on the road, saying ‘Narmade Har’ (Narmada is Lord Shiva).

“Today I am on ekadasi fast and don’t eat any meal except some light snacks,” Singh said.

It was the 75th day of his yatra but there was no trace of fatigue. He had already covered 1,200 km, passing through Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. He reached Gujarat on 30 November when the election campaign was beginning to heat up.

Political significance

Despite calling it a ‘spiritual yatra’, Singh’s journey, however, seems to have assumed political significance.

Almost all top Congress leaders of Madhya Pradesh, including Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arun Yadav joined him at some point in his journey to express their solidarity. Even actor Ashutosh Rana walked with him for a few kilometres before he reached Gayatri Temple in Garudeshwar in Narmada district, for a night’s halt.

“We cover 20 km a day before we stop for night rest,” said Singh. How tough has it been for someone who was so politically active to be completely cut-off?

“I was never a social animal although I was busy completing the tasks given by the party,” said the senior Congress leader. “But let me tell you, I am not retiring. It’s a six-month break to complete a spiritual task.”

Asked if he is doing the yatra to get rid of his “anti-Hindu” image, Singh said, “It’s for the people to decide. The RSS and the BJP spread so many things about me and I am not bothered.”

Singh claims the word ‘Hindutva’ has been “milked by the RSS and the BJP and it has nothing to do with religion”. “What we follow is Sanatan dharma and not Hindutva,” he said.

Singh has stopped posting comments on social media since he started this yatra. However, he follows political developments on social media whenever he gets the time.

“Mobile network is very poor in Gujarat and I sometimes get frustrated,” said his wife Amrita.

Singh, however, said he remains in touch with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. He apparently wished Sonia Gandhi on her birthday and congratulated Rahul on his elevation.

Although he was not involved in the Gujarat campaign, Singh sought updates whenever someone came to meet him.

His supporters, however, claim he has made a comeback in politics with this journey.

“Raja (Digvijaya Singh) has once again proved that when it comes to determination he is much ahead of the others,” said Rameshwar Neekhra, a former Congress MP who is accompanying Singh on the yatra.

“After all, no political leader has done such a Narmada Parikrama, walking on the banks of the river, staying like a commoner in a temple or sometimes in a tent,” he added.

As a general secretary of the Congress, Singh was in charge of Goa. The party couldn’t form the government in the state earlier this year despite coming close to a majority. He was subsequently relieved of his Goa assignment.

“The BJP sabotaged the democratic processes in the country and used every possible trick to snatch the people’s mandate,” he said.

Singh will take another three-and-a-half months, or possibly more, to complete the parikrama, which will culminate at Narsinghpur in MP. Well in time for the assembly elections there.

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