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Anti-Pope rath yatra re-routed

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The rath yatra [journey on chariot] demanding Pope John Paul II's apology for Goan inquisitions will be re-routed to reach Delhi as planned, a senior organiser told rediff.com Friday.

The journey, organised by the Sanskriti Raksha Manch, was prevented from entering Madhya Pradesh Thursday, at the border of Jhabua, by the district administration.

B P Singhal, a senior patron of the Manch, an offshoot of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said Friday morning that the yatra will be resumed and would "reach Delhi on November 4 as planned."

He said: "Now that they don't want our awareness yatra to enter their area we will re-route it. We will not have any confrontation with anybody. It is a very innocuous yatra for drawing the Pope's attention to Goan inquisitions. En route we will also spread awareness of the horrible methods of proselytization."

He said a meeting to mark the end of the yatra would be held at Delhi's Arya Samaj Mandir on November 4.

The journey was prevented by the administration from entering the western Madhya Pradesh district of Jhabua, which borders Rajasthan. It was stopped when it entered Timarbadi village in MP from Rajasthan at around 1100 hours. More than a dozen VHP workers were travelling in the chariot.

The district administration had imposed prohibitory orders in the area. The workers crossed over to Rajasthan and sat on a dharna, Singhal said.

Meanwhile, the All India Catholic Union, the laity organisation of Catholics, have expressed their regret over Vice President Krishna Kant's refusal to attend the Pope's inter-faith function. In a statement the AICU said it is "unhappy, but not surprised, at the advice given by the Government of India to the vice president."

It said the advice "seems to be quite in consonance with the statements issued by various important members of the ruling party and its ideological associates in the Sangh Parivar who have been stating protests and yatras against the Pope, against our Faith and against our Church."

"Although the prime minister and the home minister have welcomed the Pope, there has been no condemnation yet from the highest political leadership of the organisations involved in these actions which have tarnished India's image at home and abroad," it said.

"Present in the Vigyan Bhawan with the Pope will be representatives of the great Hindu religion as well as of all major faiths, all of whom are rooted in the soil of Asia. The presence of the vice president of India would have reaffirmed the government's commitment to the values of the Indian civilisation," the AICU said.

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