Indebted to ex-PM, villagers near Vadodara also hold a fair in his name

VADODARA: Braving heavy rains and inclement weather on Sunday, hundreds of tribals thronged a fair held in Saraswa village, a remote hamlet on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border in Mahisagar district. They had a special reason for not missing this event. The fair is held in the name of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Temples of political leaders and celebrities are not uncommon and the one made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name was brought down at Rajkot after he did not agree with the idea.But Gandhi is worshipped in Saraswa along with a deity there.
And those who organize the event do so not because they are fans of Gandhi but because these tribal residents feel truly indebted to him. The villagers of Saraswa credit the late PM for the development in their village that came after his visit.
READ ALSO: Rajkot administration removes Narendra Modi idol from temple
Gandhi had visited the village on March 22, 1986, when it was facing severe water scarcity. The visit came as a boon for the village as things started changing significantly. "The village got power, water and a road. The pond in the village was also revived," said Kanti Sangada, whose father Dhula Sangada was the sarpanch of the village when Gandhi visited.
READ ALSO: PM Modi shocked over temple built in his name in Gujarat
Kanti said the fair was started in 1987 by his father and others in memory of Rajiv Gandhi.
READ ALSO: Narendra Modi is presiding deity of temple near Rajkot
"Gandhi was like a messiah for us and hence the fair was planned on Amli Agyaras that is a holy day ahead of the Holi festivities," he said. The fair is held near a Shiva temple in the village. The temple itself has a picture of Gandhi placed at the feet of the deity and it is worshipped along with the deity.
READ ALSO:
PM Modi's statue adorns temple in UP's Kaushambi
Modi idol covered, inauguration cancelled after PM tweets against it
Tribals from villages located on either side of the Gujarat-Rajasthan border visit the village on the day of the fair.