Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day meditation break in Kanyakumari, arrived at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening. PM Modi started mediation on May 30 at the Dhyan Mandapam where Swami Vivekanand meditated once. It will conclude on June 1
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day meditation break in Kanyakumari, arrived at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening. PM Modi started mediation on May 30 at the Dhyan Mandapam where Swami Vivekanand meditated once. It will conclude on June 1.Before reaching the memorial, the Prime Minister offered prayers at Bhagavathy Amman Temple in Kanyakumari, after the culmination of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election campaigns. His last poll campaign occurred in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur on Thursday for the final voting phase on June 1.In the video, PM Modi is seen wearing a ‘dhoti’ and covering his upper body with an off-white shawl. He visited the Sree Kanyakumari Bhagavathi temple and offered prayers to Devi Bhagavathi Amman. Later, he reached the Vivekananda Rock Memorial for meditation.
Kanyakumari.
This holds great significance in Swami Vivekananda’s life as he meditated on the same rock. He arrived after wandering across the country, meditated for three days, and attained a vision for a developed India. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati meditated on one foot at the same place as she waited for Lord Shiva.
Kanyakumari is located at the southernmost tip of India, where the country’s eastern and western coastlines converge. It is the point where the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea intersect.
PM Modi’s spiritual sojourn comes just days before the announcement of Lok Sabha election results on June 4. In 2019, too, PM Modi had a similar trip to Kedarnath and meditated at a cave before the final phase of elections. He visited various temples, such as Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, and the Kothandaramaswamy Temple.
Over 2,000 police personnel have been posted around the memorial to ensure the PM’s security, and the Coast Guard and the Navy will also maintain vigil.
Campaigning for the last phase of the Lok Sabha polls ended at 5 pm today and the PM had also undertaken a spiritual sojourn to Kedarnath – where he had meditated in a cave – when the silence period began before the last phase of the 2019 elections.
The PM’s meditation has also sparked a political row. The Congress had claimed yesterday that the Prime Minister was trying to “circumvent” the silence period restrictions and approached the Election Commission to ensure that visuals of him meditating are not aired by the media as that would violate the model code of conduct. A delegation of Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Singhvi and Syed Naseer Hussain had handed over a memorandum to the Election Commission.
The Tamil Nadu unit of the CPM also wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner asking for a ban on the telecast of visuals of PM Modi meditating as it could become “propaganda material”, defeating the purpose of the silence period and the concept of a level playing field. Stating that meditation is a private thing, the party alleged that, in this case, a tacit attempt is being made to influence voters.
Addressing a crowd at a Kolkata roadshow today, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Prime Minister and said, “The chair of the PM is valuable and it has constitutional responsibilities. They don’t care about it. Every time before counting, he sits somewhere to gain publicity for 48 hours. He may meditate, but why in the presence of cameras?”
The BJP has hit back and said the INDIA alliance’s opposition to the PM’s meditation plan betrays its ‘anti-Sanatan mindset’.
It is important to note that PM Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu is symbolic because he actively campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to woo voters and gain a foothold in South India. During his poll campaign speeches, the Prime Minister also promoted Tamil culture.The Memorial has spiritual significance since Swami Vivekananda, after wandering across the country, is believed to have meditated here for three days on a rock located about 500 meters off the mainland, at the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. Vivekananda is said to have attained enlightenment at this place.