The Congress on Saturday (January 25, 2025) announced that it would introduce free pilgrimages for the elderly to Buddhist places of worship if voted to power in the upcoming Delhi Assembly election.
At a press conference, former Congress MP and Dalit leader Udit Raj said Delhi government’s Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana provides free pilgrimages for the elderly to holy places like Tirupati, Ayodhya, and Vaishno Devi, but does not include Buddhist sites like Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Lumbini, Deekshaboomi, and Mhow.
‘Won’t discriminate’
“If our government comes to power, we will not discriminate and grant free pilgrimage to all religious places,” Mr. Raj said.
The Congress leader said the party had staged a protest outside AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s house for “excluding” priests of Ravidas and Valmiki temples and Buddhist monks from its poll promise of providing monthly honorarium of ₹18,000 to temple priests and gurdwara granthis under the ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana’ if it returns to power.
“We have partial victory because Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath supported our issue in a public meeting at Kirari,” Mr. Raj said.
In an recent election rally, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also raised the issue, asking AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to clarify his stand on conducting a caste census.
Recently, Congress workers held a protest outside Mr. Kejriwal’s residence over the issue.
Published - January 26, 2025 12:34 am IST
