Badrinath: After spending over 15 hours meditating at a holy cave near the Kedarnath shrine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday arrived at Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand’s revered ‘Char Dham’. Modi stepped out wearing a garland of Tulsi leaves after offering prayers at the Badrinath Temple. Modi, who on Saturday visited Kedarnath Temple, offered prayers at the innermost sanctum of the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
After ending his meditation on Sunday at a holy cave nearby, Modi was seen meeting devotees dressed in a maroon robe. He told reporters that he has been lucky to visit the shrine on multiple occasions, adding that he has a special connection with Kedarnath. Modi circumambulated the temple and later interacted with local officials, even taking time out to monitor the progress of ongoing development works in the area.
When asked if he prayed for his victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said, “I did not ask for anything from Baba Kedarnath. God has made us self-sufficient beings who are able to give rather than ask.” This was Modi’s fourth visit to Kedarnath in a span of three years.
In November last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali. In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple closed for winters. This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district was thrown open to pilgrims on May 9 after a six-month-long winter break.
