Day before PM’s visit, Rajasthan govt announces holiday on Devnarayan Jayanti - Hindustan Times
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Day before PM’s visit, Rajasthan govt announces holiday on Devnarayan Jayanti

Jan 27, 2023 08:09 PM IST

PM Modi will be the chief guest at a ceremony commemorating the 1,111th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Devnarayan Ji, in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on Saturday

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhilwara to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 1,111th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Devnarayan Ji, who is revered by the Gurjar community across the country, the Rajasthan government on Friday announced a state holiday to mark the occasion.

Devnarayan is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. (File)
Devnarayan is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. (File)

PM Modi will be the chief guest at the ceremony commemorating ‘Avataran Mahotsav’ of Bhagwan Devnarayan Ji in Bhilwara, on Saturday at around 11.30am.

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Devnarayan, born in Malaseri in the 10th century, is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Devnarayan Board chairman Joginder Singh Awana said chief minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal to declare the birth anniversary of Devnarayan as a state holiday.

This will be Prime Minister Modi’s third visit to Rajasthan in as many months and the trip is deemed significant for the state, which will go to assembly elections later this year. In November 2022, Modi visited Mangadh Dham in Banswara district to pay tribute to tribal leader Govind Guru. In October 2022, he visited Sirohi district for a public meeting.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained that it is a “religious” visit by the PM, it is believed that the party is eyeing political mileage from Modi’s presence at the event. The PM is also expected to announce setting-up of a Devnarayan corridor in Asind sub-division on the lines of Kashi, Ayodhya and Ujjain. Research and survey teams from the Centre have already visited the region and are studying historical evidence, literature and religious documents connected to Devnarayan.

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Besides Rajasthan, there is considerable presence of Gurjars in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said Modi’s visit is political, eyeing at social engineering. None of the MLA candidate of Gujjar community of the BJP managed to win in the last assembly elections. Now, looking at the welfare work done by the Congress government in Rajasthan for all communities, especially Gujjars, such as giving MBC reservation, the BJP is afraid that the present government will come back to power again, he added.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Sachin Saini is Special Correspondent for Rajasthan. He covers politics, tourism, forest, home, panchayati raj and rural development, and development journalism.

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