Going to Ajmer Dargah with PM's message of brotherhood: Rijiju

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday left for the Ajmer Dargah from Jaipur to offer a ceremonial 'chadar' sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 'Urs' of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

"The prime minister's message is of brotherhood and that the country should stay united... I am going to Ajmer Dargah with this message," Rijiju told reporters at the airport here before leaving for Ajmer by road.

He was received by the BJP's state minority morcha leaders at the airport.

The minister will present the 'chadar' at the shrine of the Sufi saint and read out PM Modi's message.

"On this auspicious occasion of Urs, we want that a good atmosphere should be created in the country. No one should do anything that can affect the harmony of our country," Rijiju said.

Be it a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Buddhist or Jain, everyone is welcome at the dargah, he said.

Lakhs of people visit the dargah and people should not face any problem. The process there should be simple. Something new is being launched for improvements, he said.

Asked about a petition in a local court claiming that the dargah has been built over a Shiva temple, Rijiju said, "I have just come to offer 'chadar'."

"I have not come here to show or tell anyone, I am going with the message (of PM) for the country that all the people in our country should stay well," he said.

In November, a court in Ajmer admitted a petition claiming that the dargah was built over a Shiva temple and issued notices to the Ajmer dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India.

Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta, who filed the petition, had called on the PM to not send a 'chadar' this time.

'Urs' is held at the Ajmer Dargah to commemorate the death anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. The prime minister has been annually sending a 'chadar' to the shrine.