Yogi, Bhagwat in Gorakhpur amid RSS-BJP rift rumors

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived on Saturday in Gorakhpur, where Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat is taking part in a camp for RSS volunteers.

There was much speculation on a likely meeting between Bhagwat and Adityanath, especially in the backdrop of the BJP's recent electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh.

However, the leaders did not meet on Saturday. Asked about it, RSS sources said there was no announcement of any scheduled meeting.

Bhagwat, who reached Gorakhpur on Wednesday to attend a "karyakarta" camp, will stay here till Sunday.

While Bhagwat remained at the RSS camp venue, where the media staked out in anticipation of their meeting, Chief Minister Adityanath, who was on a three-day visit to Gorakhpur, spent time at a local zoo.

He released an Asiatic lion, 'Bharat', and the lioness 'Gauri' into their enclosure at the Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan and also held a meeting with officials.

The RSS had on Friday sought to quell suggestions of a rift with the BJP and that Mohan Bhagwat's recent critical references related to the Lok Sabha polls were aimed at the BJP.

"There is no rift between the RSS and the BJP," a source had said.

Bhagwat had addressed a gathering of RSS trainees at the concluding programme of the organisation's 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg-Dwitiya' in Nagpur on Monday where he had expressed concern over the Manipur situation.

Opposition leaders had claimed that Bhagwat's remarks, including "true sevak is never arrogant", were a message to the BJP leadership following its below-par performance in the polls.

"There was not much difference in his (Bhagwat) speech from what he had given after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Any address is bound to make a reference to an event as important as national elections.

"But it was misinterpreted and taken out of context to create confusion. His 'arrogance' remark was never directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any BJP leader," the RSS source had said.

RSS national executive member Indresh Kumar had also taken a swipe at the BJP over its poll performance, saying "Lord Ram stopped those who had become arrogant at 241".

"The party which did the bhakti (of lord Ram) but became arrogant was stopped at 241 but it was made the biggest party," he had said at an event in Jaipur on Thursday, adding, "and those who had no faith in Ram, they together were stopped at 234", apparently referring to the INDIA bloc.

As a row erupted over his remarks, Kumar had on Friday said the country is happy with the BJP's poll performance and Modi becoming prime minister for the third consecutive term.

"At this moment, the latest news is that those who were against Lord Ram are out of power and those who were devotees of Lord Ram are in power," he told PTI.

The RSS's Gorakhpur camp started on June 3. Around 280 RSS volunteers from Kashi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Awadh regions are participating in the camp named 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg' at the SVM Public School in the Chiutaha area of the city.

Tight security arrangements have been made both inside and outside the venue, and only selected volunteers are permitted to enter the event site.