Even as the Samajwadi Party faces flak for Muslim appeasement in the wake of the Dadri incident, the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh is quietly playing the Hindu card on issues other than politic
Even as the Samajwadi Party faces flak for Muslim appeasement in the wake of the Dadri incident, the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh is quietly playing the Hindu card on issues other than politics.
UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has taken a number of decisions in recent days that are designed to cater to Hindu voters and it is the religious endowment department that is working on the chief minister’s agenda.
The chief minister, for the first time, announced a subsidy of Rs 50,000 for pilgrims from UP going in the Kailash-Mansarover yatra.
The fact that the Samajwadi government took the initiative in this regard while the BJP government overlooked the idea has gone down well with Hindus.
Pilgrims on Sindhu Yatra have also been given a subsidy of Rs 10,000 each. Apart from this, the Samajwadi Shravan Yatra, that takes senior citizens on a fully sponsored tour to centres of pilgrimage, has also been a hit with the Hindu community. Pilgrims were taken to Hardwar and Rishikesh earlier this year and then to Pushkar and Ajmer Sharif.
The Samajwadi Shravan Yatra is now turning south to Tirupati and Rameswaram next month. Besides, the Akhilesh government has prepared development packages for holy cities, including Varanasi, Ayodhya and Mathura-Vrindavan.
“Besides, we are organising various events to encourage pilgrim tourism. Facilities for tourists are being upgraded at holy centres and cleanliness at religious centres is being emphasised.
“The renovation around the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple is an example,” said a senior official in the tourist department.
Two days ago, the chief minister readily agreed to give 50 acres of land in Mathura for a Krishna theme park and also assured full cooperation to BJP MP Hema Malini who met him in this regard.
