Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje took part in a "Rudra-abhishek" programme organised by the government's Devsthan department.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is leaving no stone unturned to please the divine powers that be. After spending almost three days at a temple in Madhya Pradesh last week, she visited a number of Lord Shiva temples in Jaipur yesterday.
Yesterday, the 62-year-old along with a select group of ministers visited the city's temples of Lord Shiva, she also took part in a "Rudra-abhishek" programme organised by the government's Devsthan department that controls and manages religious and charitable institutions. The government had organised similar prayers at major Shiva temples in all divisional headquarters in the state.
Ms Raje had said, "This is the first Monday of the holy month of saawan. I am here to pray for the well-being of my state."
Earlier in July, the chief minister has been criticised for demolishing many temples for the construction work of Jaipur's metro services. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed organisation, the Mandir Bachao Sangharsh Samiti had been on collision course with the chief minister over demolition of nearly 73 temples in the city due to construction related work of the Jaipur Metro.
The ruling BJP government and the Samiti have finally reached a compromise now, the government has promised to rehabilitate some of the demolished temples. This includes the ancient Rojgareshwar Mahadev, a Shiv temple built in the 17th century, located inside Jaipur's walled city.
The chief minister has reportedly shared an uneasy equation with the RSS leadership in the state, the organisation is also the ideological mentor of the BJP, and the chief minister is now keen to put the temple demolition controversy behind her. By her public visits to temples, she wants to make a larger political point to the RSS and its affiliates, that the state government has due reverence for all temples.