Digvijay Singh praises Amit Shah, reveals he helped him during ‘Narmada Yatra’ in Gujarat

New Delhi, Sep 30 (UNI) Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijay Singh on Thursday revealed a fascinating account where he had received help from his political-rival and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his ‘Narmada Yatra’ that he took four years ago.
Sharing an anecdote during a book launch in Bhopal, the staunch critic of the RSS, Mr Singh said that he was helped by Mr Shah while he was stuck on a tough terrain during his journey in Gujarat.
“Once, we reached our destination in Gujarat around 10 at night. There was no way ahead through the forested area and there was no facility for an overnight stay. A forest officer arrived and to our surprise, he told us that Amit Shah had directed him to fully cooperate with us.”
“Gujarat was under assembly elections phase and I was their (BJP) biggest critic. Despite that, Shah ensured that there should not be any problem during our yatra. They found the way for us through the mountains and also arranged for food for all of us,” the senior Congress leader recounted the incident while speaking to the audience present in the event.
Digvijaya Singh covered a 3,000 km-long journey of Narmada river banks on foot which took him six months to complete. He started from Barman Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district on September 30, 2017.
The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh further said that the RSS workers kept approaching him during the journey in Gujarat.
“When I asked them (RSS workers) why they were taking so much trouble, they told me that they have been directed to meet me and that I face no difficulty during the journey,” he added.
Singh also recalled that the RSS workers had arranged a stay for him and the group travelling along at Manjhi Samaj Dharamshala where the walls of the hall exhibited portraits of RSS stalwarts like Hedgewar and Golwalkar.
“I’m telling you this to let you know that politics and religion are different and should not be seen with the same lens. There are many examples of political camaraderie and friendship across political parties which have nothing to do with politics and ideology they endorse,” the Upper House member said.