Modi thanks EC for allowing shrine visit

Kedarnath/Badrinath, May 19 

After spending the night in a holy cave near Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today 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 offering prayers to Lord Shiva at the shrine went inside the cave to meditate at 2 pm wearing 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 temple with the help of a cane. 

“I did not ask for anything. I don’t believe in asking because God only wants us to give...all I want is ‘Baba’ Kedarnath bestows his blessings not just upon India but entire mankind,” he told reporters outside the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath after offering prayers.

He also thanked the EC for allowing him to undertake the visit. The EC had given its nod to Modi’s visit while “reminding” the Prime Minister's Office that the model code of conduct is still in force.  Modi said he remained totally cutoff from the outside world as there was no communication link to the cave he stayed in for 24 hours. — PTI 

Offers prayers at Badrinath temple

• The PM on Sunday reached Badrinath on an IAF helicopter and offered prayers at the innermost sanctum of the temple, another shrine in Uttarakhand’s “Char Dham” religious circuit
• He reached Badrinath after spending around 20 hours at the Kedarnath temple