Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was embroiled in a controversy after his name was listed in the temple book at the famed Somnath shrine as 'non-Hindu'.
As per the tradition of the temple, non-Hindus have to enter their names in the temple book. The book shows the names of Congress leader Ahmed Patel and Rahul Gandhi.
It is believed that the alleged goof up made by Congress media coordinator Manoj Tyagi. While writing the name of Patel, he reportedly wrote Gandhi's name as well.
"A very inspiring place," Gandhi wrote on the visitor's book.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, who was in Ahmedabad, said Tyagi was told to sign so that others accompanying Gandhi could also have the darshan. The names, according to him, were added later on by someone. Surjewala asserted that Gandhi is a Hindu and a Shiv bhakt.
Surjewala said it was not Gandhi's handwriting in the book.
P.K. Laheri, a trustee of the temple, claimed that no authorities from the temple were involved in the goof up and that it was Tyagi who entered the names in the book.
Meanwhile, the Congress in New Delhi released pictures to prove that Gandhi is a Hindu and that he wears the sacred thread.
Prime Minister Naredra Modi, who was addressing a rally in the region, had tweeted that it is indeed puzzling to see certain Congress leaders visit the Somnath temple when their own family members opposed the construction of a grand temple as envisioned by Sardar Patel.
The controversy apart, any politician, who goes to Saurashtra region of Gujarat, makes it a point to visit Somnath shrine and seek blessings of Lord Shiva. Some days ago, Modi too had visited the temple. In fact, he is one of the trustees of the temple along with former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, who hails from Visavadar of the Saurashtra region.
Last year, Aam Aadmi chief Arvind Kejriwal had paid a visit to the temple.
In 1024, Somnath was plundered by Turkish ruler Mahmud of Ghazani. The temple was raided several times by invaders.
It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who ensured reconstruction of the Temple in 1947. In 1951, first president of India Rajendra Prasad performed the installation ceremony of the temple.
Political analyst Vishnu Pandya observed that for the BJP, Somnath temple is an important place as Sardar Patel had initiated the reconstruction of the temple. L.K. Advani's Ram Rath Yatra to Ayodha had also begun from Somnath.
Pandya said, “It is all about soft Hindutva for both the parties without mentioning the name of Muslims.”
Going into the history of the Temple's reconstruction, sociologist Gaurang Jani said Somnath Temple Trust was set up after Mahatma Gandhi said since India was a secular country, money could not be given for the reconstruction of a temple from the government.
The temple, Jani said, is a centre of faith for the elite and the poor alike. It is one of the two biggest religious places in Saurashtra region, the other being Dwarka.
