Congress donates MP funds to satras before Bharat Jodo Yatra in Guwahati

Guwahati: In a bid to counter BJP’s Hindutva agenda, the Congress is making bountiful donations of its MP funds to the revered satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and temples as the Bharat Jodo Yatra is set to enter Guwahati on Wednesday.
The party has donated nearly Rs 50 lakh for the development of the religious sites in the first 15 days of the yatra. The march kicked off from the lower Assam town of Golakganj in Dhubri district and has traversed through five lower Assam districts, covering a distance of 150 km. In view of the Assam bandh called by several organizations demanding ST status for six communities on Tuesday, the foot march was halted. But the yatra is set to be more aggressive as it will enter chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s home constituency Jalukbari on Wednesday.
“This yatra is all about ‘tyag’ (sacrifice), ‘tapasya’ (meditation) and ‘tirthabhraman’ (pilgrimage) for us. After the public apprised us of the issues that the religious institutions have been confronting, we decided to make generous donations as per our capacity,” Assam PCC president Bhupen Borah told TOI. He said the initiative of making donations to religious institutions is linked to the party's socio-political and economic agenda.
In Ramrai Kuthi Satra in Dhubri, the Congress announced Rs 25 lakh from the MP fund of senior leader Pradyut Bordoloi. As the yatra entered Barpeta, Borah announced Rs 8 lakh from the MP fund of Abdul Khaleque, who represents Barpeta in the Lok Sabha. Bora said the party is going to donate another Rs 5 lakh to Jania Satra in Barpeta. As the yatra marched into Nalbari district, the grand old party assured another Rs 5 lakh to the historic Billeswar Devalaya. In the Rampur Raas festival in Nalbari, the Congress announced a donation of Rs 5 lakh. Earlier, the party promised Rs 3 lakh for Chilarai’s statue and Kamatapur Bhawan in Bongaigaon district.
Soon after entering Jalukbari on Wednesday, one of the first tasks would be to pay obeisance at Sri Sri Hati Satra in Sualkuchi, another Vaishnavite monastery.
“While the BJP-led government makes tall claims of taking care of religious institutions of the Hindus, there is a lot to be done for the development of these revered sites,” said a Congress leader.
Everyday, a 120-member group of Congress leaders and workers is walking through various parts of the state as part of the Assam leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that is expected to culminate at Sadiya in the easternmost district of Tinsukia in January.