Rahul visits Golden Temple; washes devotees' water bowls, cleans grille as part of 'seva'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi offered prayers at the Golden Temple here on Monday and performed 'seva' (voluntary service) by offering water to devotees and cleaning their bowls.

With a blue scarf on his head, the former Congress chief paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple.

He also visited the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, and performed 'seva' by cleaning water bowls used by devotees.

After spending some time at the shrine, he went to a local hotel and returned around 8 pm and performed 'seva' at 'Chhabeel', where he served water to the visiting devotees.

Several devotees were seen clicking pictures and making videos of Gandhi on their mobile phones. One of the women devotees shook hands with Gandhi.

After performing 'seva', Gandhi went to the sanctum sanctorum again and listened to the 'Shabad Kirtan' (religious hymns) there.

Later, he took part in the traditional ritual of 'palki seva', the closing rite in which the Guru Granth Sahib is taken for 'Sukhasan' to the Akal Takth, said Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) IT wing incharge Jaskarn Singh.

Outside the sanctum sanctorum, Gandhi was also seen performing 'seva' by cleaning steel grille. He spent around 15 minutes there.

He left for his hotel around 10:40 pm.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said in a post on X that Gandhi is on a personal visit to the Golden Temple.

"Shri @RahulGandhi ji is coming to Amritsar Sahib to pay obeisance at Sachkhand Shri Harmandir Sahib. This is his personal, spiritual visit, let's respect his privacy. Request all party workers to not be physically present for this visit. You all can show your support in spirit & meet him the next time. Satnaam Shri Waheguru," he said.