It was January 2001, when the BJP-led NDA government was headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Center and Rajnath Singh was in power in Uttar Pradesh. Mahakumbh was being organized in Prayagraj (then Allahabad). The Congress president at that time was Sonia Gandhi, who was targeted by the BJP and opposition parties because of her foreign origin. At the same time, Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati had advised that Sonia Gandhi should take bath in Mahakumbh. Swami Swaroopanand, who was considered a strong critic of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP, had given this advice.
Advice given to Sonia
Swami Swaroopananda had given this advice to three Congress leaders who had come to meet him. These included former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh, former Union Minister Makhanlal Fotedar and Suresh Pachauri. After discussions with close advisors of the Congress Party, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi would go to Allahabad and take a dip in the Ganga, but the then Rajnath Singh government put a halt to it.
The administration had refused
Allahabad administration refused to let Sonia Gandhi take bath in Mahakumbh due to security reasons. Congress leaders said that just a few days ago, Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi was given permission to take a bath in the Ganga on Makar Sankranti and security arrangements were made. There was no major event on the day chosen for Sonia’s bath, so there should not have been any difficulty in security arrangements. Despite this, he was not allowed.
Sonia’s Ganga bathing trip
On January 24, 2001, Sonia Gandhi reached Mahakumbh with her security personnel and Congress leaders. He took bath in Ganga at Triveni and worshiped as per Hindu rituals. For this, she called her family priest from Banaras and got the puja done. During this, Sonia Gandhi tied a red thread on her wrist, which was given to her by a Hindu priest. Pictures of Sonia bathing in the Ganges and worshiping were widely circulated.
Political stir due to Sonia’s pictures
When pictures of Sonia Gandhi bathing in the Ganga were broadcast, there was a political stir. Born and raised in Italy, Sonia expressed her faith by taking a bath in the holy river as per Hindu rituals. With this he tried to send a dual message: first, to suppress the controversy over his foreign origin and second, to offer an alternative to a liberal path for the Sangh’s brand of Hindutva. After the puja, Sonia also met Shankaracharya.
Politics on Sonia’s visit
Sonia Gandhi’s visit to the Mahakumbh of 2001 was mired in controversy. Sonia had reached Allahabad two days before Amavasya and taken a bath, due to which the ruling BJP government was not happy. Congress leader Pramod Tiwari had accused BJP of making Sonia’s visit a political issue. He said that this is Sonia Gandhi’s family tradition and BJP is capitalizing on it politically.
Congress also alleged that the Allahabad administration was trying to stop Sonia’s Sangam Yatra. The situation was further complicated by government orders warning VIPs not to attend the Kumbh till January 24. BJP was looking at this visit from a political point of view, because there were assembly elections next year. Three years later, the BJP lost the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and the Sonia Gandhi-led UPA alliance won the majority.
Nehru’s tradition carried forward
It is noteworthy that in 1954, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had also taken a holy dip in the Kumbh in Prayagraj, and Sonia Gandhi had carried forward the same tradition.
