The VHP international working president said politicising the yatra damaged the Hindutva cause and turned the Ram Janambhoomi into a single party affair.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi began the rathyatra procession after performing the pooja following which hundreds of devotees began pulling the chariots out of temple premises.
Though he missed Ahmedabad's Rathyatra this time, yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fans took out a huge tableau of him and made his presence felt in the procession of Lord Jagannath's chariot.
Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh on Saturday said he had sought removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the post-Godhra communal riots and even opposed L K Advani's 'Ram Rathyatra'.
"Since RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other leaders are not scheduled to visit Delhi in the immediate future, I decided to meet them in Nagpur," Advani told media persons on arriving at the Nagpur airport.
Banerjee, who was flanked by newly-elected MP Nusrat Jahan and her husband Nikhil Jain, said, "Togetherness and tolerance for all faiths is the real religion."
The Lord Jagannath Rathyatra, began on Thursday morning from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad, amidst tight security arrangements.
Amid tight security, the 137th edition of Lord Jagannath's rathyatra began in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning from the ancient Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur area.
Thousands of devotees joined the rathyatra of Lord Jagannath, which began in Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning from the Jagganath temple in Jamalpur amid tight security.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani is set to start his anti-corruption rathyatra from veteran socialist leader Jaiprakash Narayan's birthplace Sitabdiara in Saran district of Bihar on his birth anniversary October 11, according to party sources.
Amid tight security, the century's first Nabakalebar Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath was held in Puri on Saturday with fanfare, religious fervour, enthusiasm and a spirit of camaraderie.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
'Someone is needed to restore India back to Indians. So you decided you won't vote for Modi. But then, who will you vote for? List your leaders from the north to south and east to west, and ask your heart and mind, will any one of them be able to deliver and bring back India from the darkness it has fallen into?' asks Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay.
Narendra Modi seems to prefer that Hindu strongman image remain tucked in reserve, to only come when called; life's been more complicated.
Senior BJP leaders had offered the veteran politician the Lok Sabha Speaker's post after he went into a sulk over displeasure to contest from the Gandhinagar seat. However, it is yet to be known whether he has accepted the offer or not, reports Anita Katyal.
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