Rahul Gandhi returns after 3-day visit to Kedarnath Dham

Along with paying obeisance at the Kedarnath temple, Rahul Gandhi interacted with pilgrims, local people and sadhus. Also, he distributed food at a 'bhandara' organised near the temple complex to around 500 people.

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday returned to Delhi after his three-day Kedarnath Dham tour. He was accompanied by several Congress leaders and workers in Kedarnath.

Gandhi had arrived in Kedarnath at around 1 pm on November 5 and immediately went to pay obeisance at the temple. Also, he participated in the aarti in the evening and worshiped Baba Kedar.

Gandhi's helicopter took everybody by surprise because instead of landing on the helipad meant for VVIPs it landed on the common people's strip. Former state president of Congress Ganesh Godiyal welcomed him and Gandhi walked for about half a kilometer to reach the temple.

On the first day of his visit, Gandhi took a darshan of Kedarnath temple from outside and made rounds of it. After this, he went to the hotel. While going towards the temple, some people raised slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' and hailed prime minister Narendra Modi, leading to an altercation with Congress workers.

After resting in the hotel for some time, Gandhi went to the Kedarnath temple complex where he inspected the ongoing construction work. In the evening he attended the aarti. He not only interacted with the ash-smeared sadhus but also served tea to the devotees who had come to visit the temple. He inquired them about their journey and whether they faced any problems. Devotees could not stop praising the Congress leader's simplicity.

On the second day of his Kedarnath yatra, Gandhi took the blessings of Baba Bhairavnath and Adi Shankaracharya. He reached the 'samadhi' site of Adi Guru Shankaracharya located behind Kedarnath temple and offered his prayers. He stayed here for about half an hour before returning to the temple. At the temple complex, he once again interacted with the pilgrims and got photographed with the devotees. After this, he visited Baba Bhairavnath temple and offered his prayers.

Gandhi also organised a 'bhandara' near the temple premises and served food to the devotees and sadhus. While distributing the food, Gandhi inquired about the wellbeing of the devotees. 'Chole-puri' and halwa along with papad and pickles were distributed at the 'bhandara'. Food was distributed to around 500 people here.

At night, Gandhi performed Rudrabhishek of Baba Kedarnath and held a meeting with the sadhus. He spent the night at Jai Kedar Kabra Niketan.