Singhal's kalash yatra gets lukewarm response

LUCKNOW: Workers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad took out a rath yatra carrying the ashes of Ashok Singhal in Lucknow on Thursday.
The yatra moved from Ram Bhawan to Peeli Colony in Aishbagh and after traversing lanes and by-lanes of the city reached the University Road where national vice-president and mayor Dr Dinesh Sharma offered floral tributes to the urn.
Several sangh pariwar members from the areas the yatra passed came out and offered floral tributes to the asthi kalash, said VHP media in charge Ambuj Kumar Ojha.
On the lukewarm response to the yatra, Ras Bihari said all those who were informed about the yatra offered tributes.
The yatra was welcomed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s national co-organisation secretary Shiv Prakash along with state leaders, including party spokesperson Harish Srivastava, state office-bearer Anoop Gupta and media in charge Manish Shukla. State organisation secretary Sunil Bansal was in Lucknow, but missed the yatra by a few minutes as he arrived at the party office a moments after yatra left for Burlington Crossing where it culminated. Singhal's ashes would be kept in the room at the residence of VHP worker Pradeep Bhargava, RSS Vibhag Karyavaah Prashant Bhatiya told TOI and added the yatra would again begin its journey to Ayodhya on Friday morning from Bhargava's house. The room in which the ashes have been kept is the one in which Singhal used to stay during his visit to Lucknow, he added.