Digvijaya Singh’s foot march on temple donation thefts and vote theft allegations takes off

Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: A ‘Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra’ focusing on allegations of donation theft from religious places including Ayodhya Ram Temple and ‘vote theft’ steered by former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took off on Dussehra day from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

The foot march comes months after controversy related to allegations of donation theft from the Ayodhya Ram Temple and amidst the ongoing protests regarding irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) process by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and other processes related to election system in India.

The roughly 930-km padayatra to the Ram temple in Ayodhya t is expected to take around 70 days. It seeks transparency in managing religious places and temple offerings, an impartial investigation into cases of alleged donation thefts, and public awareness about what he calls ‘vote theft’.

Singh said on the occasion of start that the march will carry the message of truth, justice and accountability apart from religious faith. A number of saints from various parts of the country are participating in the foot march along with Singh and his wife Amrita Rai.

Before this, Singh has undertaken a massive 3,300-kilometer foot pilgrimage (Narmada Parikrama) around the Narmada River from September 30, 2017, to April 9, 2018, also accompanied Amrita Rai among others.

As per available information, the foot march will travel about 15 km a day. It is expected to cross over from Madhya Pradesh by November 25.

A special chariot carrying idols of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman is accompanying the marchers, along with vessels of water from the rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Shipra, Kaveri and Narmada.

The yatra has drawn support from religious figures like Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotish Peeth and Shankaracharya Swami Sadanand Saraswati of Dwarka Sharada Peeth Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Brahmarshi Ramakrishnanand and Santosh Dubey, an Ayodhya saint associated with the Ram temple movement among others.