PM Narendra Modi is set to send a ceremonial ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Thursday as part of his annual tradition. The offering will be handed over to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju and BJP Minority Morcha President Jamal Siddiqui at 6 pm, who will present it at the shrine during the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. This gesture comes amid the ongoing Shiva temple controversy.
Since taking office, PM Narendra Modi has offered a ‘chadar’ to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah 10 times, with this year marking his 11th participation in the tradition.
During last year’s 812th Urs, the ‘chadar’ was presented on his behalf by then Union Minister Smriti Irani and BJP Minority Morcha President Jamal Siddiqui, accompanied by a delegation representing the Muslim community.
The gesture comes a month after a Rajasthan court admitted a petition from the Hindu Sena, asserting that the revered Ajmer Sharif Dargah is actually a Lord Shiva temple. The Ajmer Sharif Dargah became a subject of controversy last year when, on November 27, a local court in Ajmer ordered notices to be issued to three parties in response to a civil suit claiming the existence of a Shiva temple within the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, as stated by the plaintiff’s advocate.
The Ajmer Sharif Dargah is one of the most revered Sufi shrines in India. Every year, millions of devotees from all over the world gather here to celebrate the Urs festival, a significant event that commemorates the death anniversary of the Khwaja Moinuddin Hassan Chishty.