Sangh Parivar jumps into Tehri protest

The Tehri agitation over blockade of the Bhagirathi has taken a political twist. What began as a demonstration by sadhus and religious leade...

The Tehri agitation over blockade of the Bhagirathi has taken a political twist. What began as a demonstration by sadhus and religious leaders along the Kanpur-Varanasi stretch has now moved on to Sangh territory — the BJP has threatened to raise the issue against the UPA government in Parliament during the Winter Session.

‘‘I will raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session. Blockade of the Bhagirathi in the Tehri dam reservoir has exposed the intention of the UPA government which operates against the interests of the Hindu community,’’ senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra told The Indian Express.

“We do not want water from the nullahs in the name of the Ganga. If the water is not released, we will do a Babri at the Tehri reservoir,” said Swami Ramdasji Maharaj who has been on a fast from November 16.

The Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda (that stems from Badrinath) at Devprayag (a town in Uttaranchal) and it is the confluence of two rivers that emerges as the Ganga, worshiped especially along Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur.

The international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ashok Singhal, has also joined the protests. ‘‘The VHP is not going to sit idle. We will launch an agitation to ensure that the Bhagirathi is immediately released from the Tehri reservoir,’’ Singhal said in Varanasi on Wednesday.

The BJP legislator from Allahabad, Narendra Kumar Singh Gaur, has also sent a memorandum to the PM, seeking his intervention on the issue. ‘‘The issue will be raised in the state Assembly because it epitomises the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus. We seek your intervention and any delay is bound to hurt the feelings of the Hindu community,’’ Gaur said in the memorandum sent to the PM through Allahabad Commissioner Lalit Verma.

Back at the Sangam (confluence), where the Ganga clearly appears to have run thin, the saints are holding a fast-unto-death to get ‘‘their mother river back’’.

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The Hindu Jagran Manch has also launched a door-to-door campaign to increase awareness in Allahabad.