Rajnath offered crown and sword before his yatra

Bhubaneswar, Apr 6 (UNI) BJP President Rajnath Singh, who kicked off his 5500 kms Bharat Surakhya Yatra from this temple city today, was offered a crown and sword by state BJP leaders at a massive rally organised on the occasion.

BJP Orissa unit President Juel Oram offered him the crown while State BJP legislature party leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan handed over a sword to him.

Though the scheduled yatra was to commence at 0930 hours, it was delayed by almost three-and-half hour and began at 1300 hours after a puiblic meeting that continued for two hours.

Amid tight security and to the beating of drums and cymbals, Mr Singh, flanked by a group of folk dancer group and senior BJP leaders, was escorted from the pandal to the rath parked on the Mahamta Gandhi Marg.

Chief Ministers of Orissa, Chhatishgarh and Jharkhand and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar besides former BJP President Vekkaih Naidu waved Singh of as his rath began rolling.

The rath carried the slogan ''bighatan aur atankbad ke birodh aur sushsan ke liye abhijan'' (Campaign against the divisive forces and terrorism and for good governance).

The BJP President, who invoked the blessings of Lord Jagannath at Puri before begining of his 35-day long yatra from Bhubaneswar, said he was the charioteer of the rath the people should play the role of ''Arjun''.

UNI DP TJP RN 1647