At a sacred gathering just outside his own constituency, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat sat alongside Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Saturday, 17 October 2026, to hear the Shri Ram Katha at the Keshavpriya Gaushala, Shri Raghuvanshpuram Ashram near Kelawa Khurd, Jodhpur — a moment that wove together faith, politics, and India's living cultural tradition.

Shekhawat shared the occasion on X, writing in Hindi: 'व्यासपीठ पर विराजित पूज्य संत श्री मुरलीधर जी महाराज का आशीर्वाद प्राप्त कर श्रीराम कथा का श्रवण किया' — 'I received the blessings of revered Sant Shri Murlidhar Ji Maharaj, seated at the Vyas Peeth, and listened to the Shri Ram Katha.' He added that he also engaged in conversation with Ram devotees gathered at the ashram. The minister closed with a line that carried both cultural and political resonance: 'The life values of Lord Shri Ram are the foundational pillars of our culture. The soul of India resides in them.'

Shekhawat and CM Bhajanlal at the Raghuvanshpuram Ashram

The joint appearance of two of Rajasthan's most prominent BJP figures at a Ram Katha underscores a pattern that has grown sharper since the party returned to power in the state. Central and state leaders regularly attend such religious-cultural gatherings, framing them not merely as personal acts of faith but as visible affirmations of a shared civilisational commitment. The event, held at a gaushala-ashram complex near Jodhpur — Shekhawat's own Lok Sabha constituency — drew a gathering of Ram devotees from the region.

Murlidhar Ji Maharaj, the spiritual preceptor presiding over the Katha from the Vyas Peeth, conferred blessings on both leaders. The Ram Katha is a traditional recitation of the life and teachings of Lord Ram, typically spanning several days, and draws large congregations across Rajasthan's towns and villages.

Ram's cultural legacy and the Ramayana Circuit connection

For Shekhawat, Saturday's attendance carries a professional dimension beyond personal devotion. As Culture and Tourism Minister, he oversees the Swadesh Darshan scheme, which since 2014-15 has included a dedicated Ramayana Circuit — a tourism development initiative that maps and develops sites across India linked to Lord Ram's life and journey. The minister's public invocation of Ram's 'life values as foundational pillars of our culture' aligns directly with the government's stated rationale for that scheme: that spiritual heritage and tourism infrastructure can reinforce each other.

Rajasthan, with its dense network of temples, ashrams, and pilgrimage routes, sits at the intersection of that cultural-tourism push. State-level announcements on heritage tourism projects — particularly those with a Ramayana or Vedic thread — remain a space to watch as both the Centre and the Bhajanlal government signal their priorities.

Two senior leaders, one sacred text, one ashram near Jodhpur — and a ministry whose brief is to turn precisely such moments of living culture into a national story worth travelling for.