By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 9 April: BJP State President and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt has dismissed former Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s allegations regarding the religious tourism system as baseless and far removed from reality. Bhatt asserted that the statistics themselves are sufficient to refute such claims.
In a statement, Bhatt claimed that, not long ago, one required arduous journeys spanning several days in order to reach the sacred shrines, but now the journey time has been reduced to a matter of hours due to improved connectivity and better roads. He added that with the construction of the All-Weather Road, pilgrim sites have become far more accessible, safe, and memorable as compared to the past. Historic advancements have been made in civic amenities at most of the holy sites of Devbhoomi, including the Badrinath and the Kedarnath Dhams.
Bhatt asserted that, as a result of the improvements, the number of pilgrims to the Char Dham Yatra, which previously ranged between 10 to 20 lakhs, has now surged to between 55 and 60 lakhs and is steadily approaching the crore mark. Remarkably, with nearly a month remaining before the commencement of the current Yatra season, over 13 lakh devotees have already registered, which is a record-breaking figure.
Bhatt further claimed that despite being aware of these facts, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat lacks the courage to acknowledge these publicly. The growing influx of pilgrims and tourists serves as a testament to the unprecedented efforts undertaken in the state to enhance travel management, security, and convenience. He also claimed that by propagating falsehoods on this matter, Rawat and the Congress party are, in essence, exposing themselves.
Bhatt also criticised those who, according to him, are preoccupied with supporting illegal madrasas, shrines, and divisive agendas such as “love jihad”, “land jihad”, and “spit jihad”. Bhatt claimed that such individuals fail to recognise the overwhelming registration numbers for the Yatra, which, in his view, further discredits both them and the Congress party.
