Kejriwal visits Somnath, says Gujarat regime doesn't like him in state

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who landed here on Saturday to offer prayers at historic Somnath Temple, charged the state's BJP government with preventing his interaction with people in Gujarat.

"I have come here with my family only for darshan and will meet whoever comes to see me. I was to have an interaction with traders of Gujarat in Surat tomorrow (on Sunday) but the Anandiben (Patel) Government ensured this could not happen," he claimed.

"She got the organisers of the Surat event to cancel it and also got the hall booking cancelled. Can't one meet with people of another state in a democracy? Anyways, some other time," the Aam Aadmi Party chief told reporters ahead of his visit to the Shiva temple.

Besides the Delhi Chief Minister and his family, AAP leader Kumar Vishwas also came with his family to offer darshan at the temple on the Arabian Sea coast. They landed at the Rajkot airport and drove down to Somnath, with Gujarat AAP convenor Kanu Kalsaria accompanying them.

After visiting the temple, Kejriwal said he sought "power"' from the lord to fight with the "evil" forces.

Kejriwal also visited other shrines and temples like Bhalka Teerth, where Lord Krishna is believed to have left his mortal body, in and around Somnath.

"There can't be a better feeling than having darshan and puja with family and friends. I sought from the lord the power to fight the evil forces," he said.

Kejriwal was expected to interact with farmers of the coastal belt in Gir-Somnath district and later in Keshod in Junagadh and Jetalsar in Bhavnagar district on his way back to Rajkot where he will have a night halt and would fly back to Delhi Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, some AAP supporters who had welcomed the Delhi CM at the Rajkot airport and were accompanying him till Somnath, had arguments with some of the employees of a toll point on the Rajkot-Veraval highway. The activists were reportedly not willing to pay the toll tax claiming that during the events of ruling BJP and even the opposition Congress, the toll was not being charged but was collected from them only.

--IANS

desai/vd