Picture : ANI / X
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kanyakumari to embark on a 45-hour long meditation session at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
According to PTI, The PM arrived from nearby Thiruvananthapuram and he is scheduled to offer worship at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and later reach Vivekananda Rock Memorial and perform meditation for nearly two days.
Ahead of his departure on June 1, Modi is likely to visit the Thiruvalluvar statue, next to the memorial.
Both the memorial and statue were built on tiny islets, that are separate and mound-like rocky formations in the sea.
All arrangements, including heavy security, are in place for Modi’s 45-hour stay at the famed, mid-sea memorial, named after the revered Hindu seer.
Modi will meditate at Rock Memorial, a monument built in tribute to Swami Vivekananda, here following the culmination of the Lok Sabha polls campaign later on Thursday, BJP leaders had said.
The PM had undertaken a similar exercise in a Kedarnath cave after the 2019 poll campaign.
meanwhile Opposition has slammed PM Modi over his meditation trip. “We have no problem if any leader keeps a fast of silence or campaigns but during the silence period, there should be no campaigning,” said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi after a meeting of a Congress delegation with ECI officials reported PTI.
Singhvi said the silence period before the polling will begin on May 30 and continue until June 1. He added Modi’s meditation is a direct violation of the MCC. “…you are either campaigning this way or publicising yourself through new channels and print media,” Singhvi said.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee also reacted sharply, questioning why the PM should meditate in front of the camera, adding, “he (PM) cannot campaign like this”.
Addressing an election rally at Baruipur in Jadavpur constituency, Mamata Banerjee said, “Does anybody meditate in front of the camera? He wants to show people that he is meditating. The place is good, Swami Vivekananda loved this place (Dhyan Mandapam). If he (Modi) is saying that he is God then, then why should he meditate?”
“He cannot campaign like this. He can meditate but that cannot be telecast on the television. This is a violation of MCC and we will complain to the ECI,” she added.
