PM Modi thanks EC for allowing him to visit Kedarnath, Badrinath

After spending the night in a holy cave near Uttarakhand’sKedarnath temple, Prime Minister NarendraModi Sunday thanked the Election Commission for granting him permission for the visit, saying he remained entirely cut-off from the outside world and got two days of “rest”.

Modi reached Kedarnath on Saturday and after offeringprayers to Lord Shiva at the shrine went inside the cave to meditate at 2 pmwearing a saffron colour shawl.

   

He came out at 7 am Sunday and then left for Badrinath,another important Hindu shrine, where he ended his two-day visit to the state.

Dressed in a kurta-pyjama with a shawl wrapped around him,the prime minister walked down from the cave on a hill to the Kedarnath templewith the help of a cane.

“I did not ask for anything. I don’t believe in askingbecause God only wants us to give…All I want is ‘Baba’ Kedarnath bestows hisblessings not just upon India but entire mankind,” he told reportersoutside the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath after offering prayers.

He also thanked the Election Commission for allowing him toundertake the visit, saying he got two days of “rest” there.

The EC had given its nod to Modi’s visit while”reminding” the Prime Minister’s Office that the model code ofconduct is still in force.

Polling for the seventh and the last phase of the generalelection was held Sunday. Modi said he remained totally cutoff from the outsideworld as there was no communication link to the cave he stayed in for 24 hoursand he kept looking at the shrine through a small window.

He said, “I am fortunate, that I am getting theopportunity to come to Kedarnath for many years.”

This is Modi’s fourth visit in the last two years to thetemple, which is at a height of 11,755 feet near the Mandakiniriver.

Taking note of the redevelopment work at Kedarnath, whichwas devastated in a series of cloudbursts in 2013, Modi said there is adedicated team deployed for it and that he too had taken stock of works throughvideo-conferencing with authorities.

“The work at Kedarnath is now progressing at a properpace. People, besides visiting Dubai and Singapore, should also visit Kedarnathand other places in India,” he said.

The prime minister then boarded an Indian Air Forcehelicopter to Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand’s “char dham”religious circuit, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

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