Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) The youth wing of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday launched a four-day nationwide ‘Asthi Kalash Yatra’ to pay tributes to late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was the president of the party.
As part of the yatra, Pawar’s ashes will be immersed in major rivers and religious places across the country, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, a release issued by the party said on Wednesday.
Pawar and four others were killed in a plane crash at Baramati in Pune district on January 28.
The ‘Asthi Kalash Yatra’ began with prayers at the NCP’s Delhi headquarters, and will continue till February 7. During this period, the yatra will travel through more than 10 states, it said.
It aims to give people across India an opportunity to pay homage to Ajit Pawar, many of whom could not attend his cremation in Baramati due to time constraints, the release added.
On Tuesday, after traditional rituals were performed at his residence in Baramati, the late leader’s son Parth Pawar handed over the ashes to office-bearers of the NCP’s youth wing.
Parth said Ajit Pawar’s leadership and ideology were not limited to Maharashtra and were accepted across the country.
He said many supporters were waiting for a chance to pay respects to the late leader.
The ashes will be immersed at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar in Uttarakhand, at the Sangam in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi and other religious sites in Patna, Jharkhand, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
The party said the yatra would also comprise condolence meetings and focus on spreading Ajit Pawar’s ideas related to development, farmers’ welfare and social justice.
The yatra is being led by NCP youth wing national president Dheeraj Sharma, with party office-bearers and workers coordinating the programme. PTI MR NP
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