MP: 'Anguished' For Not Being Able To Perform Ritual At Shrine, Uma Bharti Gives Up Food

Bharti had already written to the Raisen collector to make arrangements for the water ritual she intended to perform at the temple on the Monday following Navratri.

BJP leader Uma Bharti. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: Unable to pay homage at the Someshwar Mahadev temple at Raisen fort in Madhya Pradesh due to a lack of ASI clearance, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti vowed on Monday to abstain from meals "for peace of mind" till she is permitted to do a 'Jalabhihek' or water ritual at the Lord Shiva shrine.

Bharti arrived at the temple, some 50 kilometres from Bhopal, this morning to do the rite, but had to pray from outside the temple since the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) had not granted permission to open it until Monday, news agency PTI reported.

"I am deeply anguished for not being able to offer 'Jalabhishek' at the Someshwar Mahadev temple. To control my emotions and to have peace of mind, I have given up food till I can worship at Someshwar Mahadev temple," Bharti was quoted by PTI in its report.

Bharti had already written to the Raisen collector to make arrangements for the water ritual she intended to perform at the temple on the Monday following Navratri.

Arvind Dubey, the district collector, wrote to ASI authorities after receiving Bharti's letter. However, the ASI did not grant permission to open this temple until Monday.

According to historian Rajiv Lochan Choube, Afghan emperor Sher Shah Suri deceitfully defeated local ruler Puranmal in 1543 and took seized the fort and shrine, which have remained sealed since. At the spot, a mosque arose.

"After 1947, the Raisen Fort and the temple came under the supervision of the Central Archaeology Department, and the then chief minister Prakash Chandra Sethi allowed worship for one day on Mahashivratri following a public agitation in 1974," Choube said.

(With Inputs From PTI)