Rahul Gandhi on two-day Karnataka visit; to pay obeisance to 'Walking God' Shivakumara Swamiji

Bengaluru, March 30

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be on a two-day visit to Karnataka from Thursday during which he will pay obeisance to late Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Math in Tumakuru on his 115th birth anniversary, who had earned the recognition of ‘Walking God.’ The former Congress president will also hold the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) extended executive meeting, where he is expected to exhort party leaders to gear up for Assembly elections due next year, Congress sources said.

As per the details shared by the KPCC, Gandhi would leave for Tumakuru by road after arriving here in in the afternoon and pay his respects to the late pontiff of the Siddaganga Math, who passed away in January 2019 at the age of 111.

There is a huge following for Shivakumara Swamiji in the state and the dominant Lingayat community adore him as ‘Walking God’ for his philanthropic work.

The seer saw to it that the Math he presided over became a shelter home and a centre for learning for many poor students from different parts of the state.

On April 1, he would participate in the KPCC’s extended executive committee meeting at the party’s state headquarters here. The former Congress president will also hold a meeting with the party’s frontal organisation before flying back to Delhi, according to the leader’s programme shared by the state unit.