BJP to start ‘Shaheed Samman Yatra’ from Chamoli on Oct 21

DEHRADUN: The BJP state unit will commence its “Shaheed Samman Yatra” from October 21 in Chamoli district under which party leaders will visit families of martyrs hailing from the state and collect soil from their houses to be used in construction of the “Sainya Dham” in Dehradun.

The yatra will be flagged off by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on October 21 in Chamoli for the Garhwal region while the one in Kumaon region will be flagged off by defence minister Rajnath Singh on October 24 from Pithoragarh.

Informing about the party event, state minister for welfare of soldiers Ganesh Joshi said, “The yatra is a very important initiative not just for the party but for the people of Uttarakhand because it is to pay the respects to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the country.”

“During the yatra, we will visit the houses of all the martyrs hailing from state in all 70 assembly constituencies... Visiting their houses, we will pay our respects to their family members and collect soil from their homes which will be then used in the construction of ‘Sainya Dham’ in Dehradun which was the brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has take,” said Joshi. He said during his visit to Delhi on Friday, he had met Singh during which he had invited him to inaugurate the Yatra from Pithoragarh on October 24.

“He was very happy with the initiative and said will come to the state to inaugurate it. He also commended the works done by the state government for the welfare of servicemen and ex-servicemen,” said Joshi.

Political analysts said the BJP event was aimed at wooing families of significant number ex-servicemen and servicemen in state. “This is clearly to target their voters before the 2022 assembly election. The party knows that their support is vital considering the fact that almost every third house has member in the armed forces,” said political analyst Jai Singh Rawat.

The Congress and AAP termed it a political gimmick.

“The BJP did nothing for any section of the society in the last four and half years of its tenure. Now, with the elections nearing, they are trying to play this tactic to woo voters who will not fall prey to their political gimmicks,” said Congress party vice President Dhirendra Pratap Singh.

AAP state media in charge Amit Singh Rawat said: “The BJP thinks that they can fool our soldiers by taking out such yatras. They are protecting our country and very well know what is good for them and what’s not.”