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‘At behest of chief cameraman’: Congress claims Rahul Gandhi denied photos during Varanasi temple visit
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said no cameras were allowed when Gandhi visited the temple.
Varanasi: In an apparent attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Saturday claimed Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to take cameras inside Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath Temple by the "the employee" of the "camerajivi" sitting in Delhi.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took a dig at PM Modi as he called him the country's chief cameraman.
"All this has happened at the behest of the country's chief cameraman sitting in Delhi. This is his 'One Nation, One Photo' policy," he said, per PTI.
The Congress today accused the Varanasi administration of cancelling the camera permissions at the last moment.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said no cameras were allowed when Gandhi visited the temple.
"All BJP leaders, when they come to offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple, are allowed to enter with cameras. No cameras were allowed with Rahul Gandhi and till now no photos have been released by the administration," he told reporters.
In a post on X, the Congress claimed the district administration assured them that there would be camerapersons inside.
"Today around 10.30 am Rahul Gandhi ji offered prayers at the Baba Vishwanath temple in Kashi. At the last moment, the permission granted to our camera to enter the temple was cancelled/ The district administration assured us that photos (of Rahul Gandhi's visit to the temple) would be shared by the temple cameraperson. Despite continuous efforts for three and a half hours, the photo was not provided. Then seven photographs were sent but none of those was of darshan although the photo was taken by the temple cameraperson," it said in the post.
The Congress said that "by doing this, the district administration of Varanasi once again proved that it is nothing more than an employee of the 'Camerajivi' sitting in Delhi".
"This is not politics and sycophancy, this is pettiness. But remember that neither a devotee of Lord Shiva can be stopped from his resolve nor can any force stop him from this great battle for justice. May Baba Vishwanath do good to everyone and give wisdom to the wicked," the Congress said on X.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is currently touring UP.
With inputs from PTI
