At 70, Digvijaya Singh to embark on 3,300-km Narmada Parikrama

BHOPAL: Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh (70) is going to embark on 3,300-km ' Narmada Parikrama', a walk along the banks of the river Narmada, from Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh on September 30.

"My father will start his Parikrama ('circumambulation') from the holy Barman Ghat after seeking the blessings of his guru, Dwarka-Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, at Narsinghpur," said Jaivardhan, the Congress leader's son and MLA from Raghogarh.

"This six-month-long Parikrama is entirely a religious and spiritual exercise. Nothing political should be read into it," he added.

Singh will walk 20 km daily, Jaivardhan said, adding, "I am also going to walk with my father whenever I get time."

Congress sources said that what prompted Digvijay, Rajya Sabha member and a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, to undertake this arduous exercise was the advice of Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati.

The state government will provide him security which he is entitled to as a former chief minister.

Assembly elections are due in the BJP-ruled state next year.

Singh will pass through 110 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and 20 Assembly constituencies in Gujarat during his journey.

Singh, descendant of the erstwhile royal family of Raghogarh, would be missing Dussehra celebration at the Raghogarh fort in Guna district for the first time this year.

His family's tradition of celebrating Dussehra in a grand way dates backs to over three centuries.