Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul offers prayer at Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the Chamundeshwari temple atop Chamundi hills here on the third day of the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka.

Gandhi was accompanied by supporters and party leaders as he visited the shrine.

Goddess Chamundeshwari is the tutelary deity of the Mysuru royalty and the presiding deity of Mysuru for several centuries.

In a tweet in Hindi after visiting the temple, Gandhi said, ”Religious harmony is the foundation of India’s peaceful and progressive future”.

Gandhi started the 26th day of his yatra at the crack of dawn, and walked through the streets of the old town which is decked up for the 10-day Dasara celebrations. People lined up on both sides of the road to welcome Gandhi and chanted slogans hailing the Congress leader, who has so far walked 62 km in Karnataka and 532 km in Tamil Nadu and Kerala legs of the yatra.

In Mysuru, the yatra moved in the form of a procession amid beating of drums and performances by artistes dressed in traditional attire to match the town’s festive spirit.

Gandhi had on Sunday night addressed a public gathering here amid torrential rain, and continued his speech even while he was drenched. While the former Congress president declared his resolve to unite India through his journey, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Monday hailed the Wayanad MP’s rain-soaked moment in Mysuru as ”the defining moment of the yatra.” After walking 22 km through Mysuru, Gandhi entered Mandya district in which the historic Srirangapatna town where Tipu Sultan once ruled is located.

Tipu Sultan’s mausoleum is located in this city.