From the famous Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar to the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya in Ernakulum in Kerala and the Somnath Temple in Gujarat — several Union ministers, BJP MPs and senior BJP leaders will fan out to over 100 such sacred sites in the country on Friday (November 5) when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
As part of the nationwide programme, the BJP has also invited sadhus and devotees at the four Dhams associated with Adi Shankaracharya in Puri (Odisha), Srinegeri (Karnataka), Dwarka (Gujarat) and Jyotirmath (Uttarakhand), apart from the 12 Jyotirlingas, including the Somnath Temple in Gujarat and Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, and 87 other prominent temples that were established along the route taken by the Adi Shankaracharya during his travels across the country.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be in Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple tomorrow, while UP CM Yogi Adityanath will be in Kashi Viswanath in Varanasi and Union Minister Jitendra Singh will be in Shankracharya Temple, Srinagar. PM to arrive at Kedarnath at around 7 am and spend almost three hours there.
Sources in the party told News18 that Union ministers and senior BJP MPs, as well as party leaders, will be travelling to the sites and be present there during the two hours that the PM spends in Kedarnath on the morning of November 5. Most of these leaders will travel to the sacred sites in their home states. LEDs and big screens are being put up at all these sites for the live screening of the PM’s program from Kedarnath. The PM will unveil several projects in Kedarnath, including the reconstructed Samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya (after the 2013 floods) and his statue. The PM will also deliver a speech on the occasion.
The Uttarakhand government is also leaving no stone unturned with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami writing to several VIPs and other Chief Ministers, inviting them for the PM’s programme. Sources said the Mahamandelashwars (chiefs) of the various Akharas in the country are also being invited for the PM’s programme in Kedarnath by the state government.
The PM’s visit and the mega BJP event across the country come months ahead of Uttarakhand elections and at a time when the BJP has been facing objections from local priests in the state over the setting up of a Devasthanam Act to manage the Char Dhams.
An official statement from the PMO earlier said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer prayers at the Kedarnath Temple and will thereafter inaugurate Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi and unveil the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya.
“The Samadhi has been reconstructed after the destruction in the 2013 floods. The entire reconstruction work has been undertaken under the guidance of the Prime Minister, who has constantly reviewed and monitored the progress of the project,” the PMO said. It said the PM will review and inspect the executed and ongoing works along the Saraswati Aasthapath and will also address a public rally. This will be Modi’s fifth visit to Kedarnath as PM.
“PM Modi will inaugurate key infrastructure projects which have been completed, including Saraswati Retaining Wall Aasthapath and Ghats, Mandakini Retaining Wall Aasthapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on river Mandakini. The projects have been completed at a cost of over Rs 130 crore. He will also lay the foundation stone for multiple projects worth over Rs 180 crore, including the Redevelopment of Sangam Ghat, First Aid and Tourist Facilitation Centre, Admin Office and Hospital, two Guest Houses, Police Station, Command & Control Centre, Mandakini Aasthapath Queue Management and Rainshelter and Saraswati Civic Amenity Building,” a PMO statement earlier had said.
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