As BJP’s Gaurav Yatra ends, ‘love jihad’, Narmada back in limelight

The third yatra by this name from the BJP’s laboratory in Gujarat since 2002, the party’s national chief JP Nadda launched it on October 12, from Becharaji, the seat of Goddess Bahucharajiin Mehsana district which is home to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of the five legs, the longest leg of the yatra was the one launched from the tribal taluka of Unai in South Gujarat by Union Home and Co-operation Minister Amit Shah, that was also the last to end at Ambaji, titled the Birsa Munda Adivasi Gaurav yatra.

Union Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala had also addressed the gathering in Bechraji where, he launched a veiled attack on Congress and AAP for supporting those who created obstacles for Narmada Project, the lifeline of Gujarat.

Rupala said, “Those who were supporting the efforts to stop such ambitious scheme (as Narmada Yojana), they are now roaming around in Gujarat seeking votes. We need to remind this to the people of Gujarat.”

“Who was stopping it? Who was supporting Medha Patkar and company? Who was against this scheme?” he said in his address.

Passing through the North Gujarat region the yatra had also covered Banaskantha district where opposition Congress is strong.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel addressed first of his public meeting of the day in Vadgam, a reserved constituency represented by Congress working president Jignesh Mevani.

At Patan in north Gujarat former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel addressed a public meeting on October 18, where he brought up the issue of “love jihad”.

“Today, some jihadi elements harass our daughters and sisters and when the government becomes strict, they say that it is harassing their community. But I want to tell people of that community that when they are issuing different fatwas, then why are they not issuing a fatwa that nobody (from their community) should marry a Hindu girl,” Patel said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had launched one of the legs of the yatra from Zanzaraka of Ahmedabad on October 13 where he said the BJP would win the upcoming assembly elections with 2/3 rd majority.

Mentioning a range of works done by BJP governments in Gujarat in last 20 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah said, “BJP governments have done innumerable types of works. And therefore, in every election people of Gujarat have garlanded BJP with a victory.”

Union Minister Smriti Irani had joined a leg of the yatra in central Gujarat. Irani had taken a dig at AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been aggressively taking on the ruling BJP in Gujarat for the elections.

Addressing a gathering in Anklav of Anand – a Congress bastion, Irani had said, “Yesterday he (AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal) was asking (people) to get a new engine (instead of the ‘double engine’, the poll plank of ruling BJP). He is talking about a new engine when his own vehicle has shut down. And how his vehicle is running? On liquor…”

Two of the legs of the yatra covered the tribal belt of Gujarat.

The first of this was from Unai of Navsari district to Fagvel in Kheda district. It concluded on Thursday (October 20) in the presence of Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information & Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. In his speech on the occasion, Vaishnaw asked people to vote BJP back to power so that the state continues to be governed by a double engine government (BJP at both Centre and in the state).

Addressing the same gathering, Gujarat BJP general secretary Bhargav Bhatt criticised AAP and Kejriwal for calling BJP and its leaders as children of Kansa.
The tribal leg – Bhagwan Birsa Munda Adivasi Gaurav Yatra- saw some tense moments in Rajpipla on October 17 where BJP MP of Bharuch, Mansukh Vasava addressed a public gathering on the occasion.

Here, some of the party workers raised slogans in favour of Mansukh Vasava, while another group raised slogans in favour of former BJP MLA from Nandod and state president of BJP’s Tribal Morcho Harshad Vasava.

Mansukh Vasava was annoyed by sloganeering by the two groups and scolded the party workers publicly.

In his speech Mansukh Vasava said, “I will not allow indisciplined behavior in the party… In front of whom are you raising slogans? The ticket will be decided by party, whosoever he may be. The party will not allow such meanness. We are fighting against BTP (Bharatiya Tribal Party) and Congress and you are raising slogans in the public meeting here.”

This leg of the yatra concluded at Ambaji in Banaskantha distirct Friday.

In Saurashtra region, one of the legs of the yatra faced protests by BJP party workers in Wankaner of Morbi district over the route of the yatra in the town. The yatra faced protests as it was accompanied by union minister Piyush Goyal and BJP MP from Rajkot Mohan Kundariya.

(With Inputs from Kamaal Saiyed, Surat)