Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday described Rashtra Raksha Mahayagya as a symbol of unity and national integration, saying that India wants to become a powerful nation for the welfare of the whole world and not to pose threat.

"The main objective of this (Rashtra Mahayagya) is to make our county more prosperous and strengthen our nation," Rajnath Singh said after flagging off the 'Rath Yatra' from the central Delhi's India Gate.

It will collect soil and water for a week-long Yagya in the national capital between March 18-25.

The Mahayagya will be organised in the lawns outside the Red Fort in Old Delhi, in which over 1,100 priests would participate.

"It is not to pose a threat to any other country but it is to serve the rest of the world, and to ensure that India again takes the seat of Vishwa Guru (world leader)," the Home Minister said.

Rajnath Singh also said that "a prosperous India will always work towards making the world more prosperous".

He also described the week-long Mahayagya a unique effort not just for India but for the whole world. "It is a symbol of our unity and national integration," Rajnath Singh said.

The Home Minister also said that earlier many political parties had organised many such Rath Yatras, "however, the objective of these Yatras was either for political success or personal gains."

"But the objective of this 'Jal Mitti Rath Yatra' is solely for the prosperity of the nation and to instil positive energy across the society," he said.

The soil and water will be brought from Doklam in Sikkim where troops of India and China were locked in a standoff, and Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir, located near the Line of Control (LoC), and the Punjab's Wagah border, and from four pilgrimage sites.

The soil and the water collected from all the places would be used in raising the structures at the Mahayagya.

Last week, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also launched the missed call number for the Rashtra Raksha Mahayagya here in Delhi.

--IANS

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