Congress 'purifies' yatra route with cow urine

UPLETA (RAJKOT DISTRICT): Around 700 woman workers of the Congress, in a unique show of protest against the BJP's Gaurav Yatra, washed the entire 1.5-km stretch of road in the town, traversed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi's mechanised 'rath' on Monday, with cow urine.The women, dressed in black, poured 'gaumutra' from pots onto the street and then swept it clean with brooms.This they did along the stretch from Naagnath Chowk to the main bus stand.The programme took place after the Gaurav Yatra passed on the route earlier in the day, en route to Dwarka. Former minister and Congress leader Balvant Manvar told TNN that the aim of the programme was to ensure that all the evil influences left behind by the yatra were washed off.He said the people of Upleta would not like to tread the path taken by Modi as his hands are stained with blood. He said the chief minister's presence was a bad omen for the people of the region, who are still relling from the impact of drought and economic recession.Three Brahmins walked in front of these women, chanting shlokas. While the Brahmins sprinkled the 'gaumutra' on the road, the women followed sweeping the street with brooms.The programme was an instant hit with the locals in what was once a Congress stronghold. In the last two elections, the party had to face defeat due to erosion of its votebank all over Saurashtra.The coming together of various factions in the Congress enabled the party to undertake Monday's programme, unthinkable a couple of years back.Surprisingly, the yatra did not evoke the kind of response in Rajkot district as it did in Junagadh on Sunday. It may be recalled that BJP workers had also 'purified' the martyr's memorial in the Khadia area of Ahmedabad with water from the Ganga after the state Congress president paid a visit to the site upon after taking over the reins of the party in the state.