Amit Shah renews BJP membership from Dhauli village of Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jan 7: BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday renewed his party membership from a village in historic Dhauli gram panchayat near here, after seeking blessings of Lord Jagannath at Puri.

"I am delighted to renew my membership of the party from Gopinathpur village in Dhauli gram panchayat where historic Kalinga War was fought," Shah said while addressing a small gathering of party workers.

He also enrolled 100 others as members of the party as per the provision. Each member of BJP requires to renew membership after five years.

Stating that Dhauli is the place which sent the message of peace to the entire world, Shah highlighted the great sacrifice of the people of Kalinga (ancient name of Odisha) who fought against Emperor Ashoka.

After witnessing the devastation including massive bloodbath during the Kalinga War, Emperor Ashoka had chosen the path of peace and love and transformed himself from "Chandasok" to "Dharmasoka", he said.

Party sources said BJP has so far made 3.21 crore people as its primary members including 56,000 from Odisha.

Earlier in the morning, Shah along with his wife visited Shri Jagannath temple in Puri. The couple stayed inside the temple for about an hour. Shah had met the Shankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati last evening.

Shankaracharya told reporters, "I told the BJP president that steps should be taken to keep the mutts and the temples free from those people for whom these places have become their prime source of livelihood".

The seer also sought the cooperation of Shah and his party for smooth conduct of the ensuing Nabakalebara festival of Lord Jagannath scheduled in July this year.

"I also enquired about India's relations with other countries, cross border firing with Pakisthan and economy of the country," the Shankaracharya said.

PTI