Kanyakumari. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening began his 45-hour long meditation session at the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial here. After arriving here by helicopter from nearby Thiruvananthapuram, Modi offered prayers at the Bhagavathi Amman Temple and took a boat service to reach the Rock Memorial and began his meditation session. The Prime Minister’s meditation session will continue till June 1.
Wearing a dhoti and a white shawl, Modi offered prayers at the temple and circumambulated the sanctum sanctorum. The priests performed a special aarti and he was given temple prasad, which included a shawl and a framed photograph of the temple deity. Later, he reached the Rock Memorial by a ferry service operated by the state government’s shipping corporation and began meditating at the ‘Dhyana Mandapam’.
Before starting his meditation, Modi stood for some time on the steps leading to the pavilion. The Prime Minister is also likely to visit the statue of Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar near the memorial before his departure on June 1. Speaking to reporters in Sivaganga, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit president K. Annamalai described the visit of Prime Minister Modi as a purely ‘personal’ visit. He said, “This is the personal visit of the Prime Minister.” He said that this is the reason why his party leaders and workers did not attend the event.
While on one hand, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam and other organizations showed black flags in protest against Modi in Madurai, on the other hand, many people wrote ‘Go Back Modi’ on the social media platform ‘X’. In view of the seventh and final phase of voting of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1, there is political opposition to the broadcast of his meditation program. In view of this program of Modi, all arrangements including tight security have been completed. This memorial named after the famous Hindu saint (Vivekananda) is located in the middle of the sea.
This is the first time that the Prime Minister will stay at this memorial. This memorial has been built as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda. The Prime Minister had meditated in a similar way in the Kedarnath cave after the campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections ended. Security has been increased before Modi’s visit. Two thousand policemen will be deployed during his stay. Along with this, the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy will also keep a strict vigil.