Uma’s trip to Kedarnath has rumour mills rolling

Even though they travelled in different palanquins and stayed in separate dharamshalas, there was no escaping the rumour mills, as former BJ...

Even though they travelled in different palanquins and stayed in separate dharamshalas, there was no escaping the rumour mills, as former BJP general secretary Govindacharya and firebrand leader Uma Bharati both made a trip to the holy shrine of Kedarnath on Sunday.

A Hindi daily splashed the pictures of the two, travelling in separate palanquins, on its front page, reviving an old controversy surrounding their alleged love life. Sources say the pictures will be of interest to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where Uma Bharati is being projected as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections.

According to unconfirmed reports, the newspaper has already received an order for 5,000 copies of its edition bearing the photographs from Madhya Pradesh, which are likely to be used by Bharati’s political opponents.

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Govindacharya and Bharati had travelled to Kedarnath on Sunday to be present at the opening of the shrine on Monday. Uttaranchal Governor Sudarshan Aggarwal was also present on the occasion. The temple, situated at an altitude of 3,581 m, remains closed for six months during winter.

It was here that about a year ago, Bharati had allegedly confessed her love for Govindacharya, while giving an interview to a news magazine. She had later threatened to sue the magazine for carrying her false quotes.

This time, she was reportedly annoyed with photographers clicking her pictures with Govindacharya at the temple gates.

Govindacharya had recently resigned from the primary membership of the party.