Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Priyanka Gandhi greeted with ‘Modi’ slogans at Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s Ayodhya visit was the last leg of her three-day tour of Uttar Pradesh that included Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, respectively.
Updated on: Mar 30, 2019, 09:31:00 IST
Hindustan Times, Ayodhya | By Pawan Dixit, AYODHYA
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was greeted with ‘Modi Modi’ slogans at the doorstep of the historic Hanuman Garhi temple where she went pay obeisance Lord Hanuman on her maiden visit to the temple town.
Congress General Secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi comes out from Hanuman Garhi temple, in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, March 29, 2019. (Deepak Gupta / HT Photo)
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Priyanka’s Ayodhya visit was the last leg of her three-day tour of Uttar Pradesh that included Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, respectively. When Gandhi’s vehicle entered the temple campus from the second entry gate (back door), a group of people raised ‘Modi Modi’ slogans. However, cops chased them.
Before entering the temple, she covered her head with her saree and also wore a traditional ‘chunri’. “Priyanka Gandhi performed pooja and sought blessings from Lord Hanuman. She did not disclose, but she might have sought blessings for her brother (Rahul Gandhi) and the Congress,” said Mahant Prem Das, the priest who presided over the pooja.
Priyanka, however, did not visit Ram Lalla at the makeshift temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site. When she was asked about her decision not to visit the Ram Janmabhoomi site, the Congress general secretary said: “The matter is sub judice.” She was referring to the ongoing case in the SC and the court-appointed mediation process to resolve the age old Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid dispute. After offering prayers at the temple, Priyanka left for Lucknow en route to Delhi.
Pawan Dixit, Assistant Editor, brings over 20 years of frontline reporting experience to the newsroom. A specialist on Uttar Pradesh politics and governance, he has reported from the ground across the state’s most consequential stories. He cut his teeth in eastern UP, spending 15 years covering the region. Based in Varanasi, he reported the 2012 UP Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that reshaped the state’s political map. Moving to Lucknow in 2016, he has since led coverage of the 2017 and 2022 UP Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. His reporting tracks the BJP’s strategy, opposition moves, and voter sentiment across all 75 districts. Pawan has been a constant presence in Ayodhya since 2016. He reported the entire arc of the Ram Mandir movement — from the legal fight to the Supreme Court verdict, through temple construction, to the inauguration. He continues to track every development at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. On the state beat, he covers the BJP, the Industrial Development Department, and handles key outstation political assignments. He also reports major cases from the district court, Lucknow bench of the High Court, and the State Information Commission. Along with this, he also reports on NGT's important decisions related to UP. Known for sharp sourcing and clear analysis, Pawan connects politics, policy, infrastructure and faith — the forces driving UP today. He has reported developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir movement since 2016. The Supreme Court's Ram Mandir verdict, temple construction and the its opening have been reported by him.
He reports all developments in Ayodhya and Ram Mandir Trust.
He covers state BJP, Industrial development department, outstation political assignments, reports special cases from district court, high court and state information commission
