Prime minister Modi to visit Kedarnath this Diwali

As per reports, PM Modi is going celebrate the festival of Diwali at Kedarnath this year. This is significant in view of the religious and spiritual significance associated with the Kedarnath shrine.

PM Modi who has a special affinity for the Kedarnath temple, is scheduled to visit the shrine on November 7 and also review reconstruction projects at Kedarpuri. He will also watch a documentary about the Kedarnath shrine. The documentary consists of rescue work during the disaster work that had hit Uttarakhand and the reconstruction projects carried out afterwards. He is also expected to inaugurate Shankaracharya’s Samadhi. PM Modi could also visit Garuda Chatti around 4 kilometers from Kedarnath. In the 1980s, Modi had meditated there for several months.

This adds a special dimension to the Diwali celebrations this year. The way prime minister Modi is going to celebrate the festival of lights this year sends across a sweet and welcoming message. PM Modi’s past affection for the revered shrine is well known. Last year, he had visited the shrine a couple of times- at the time of the opening of the shrine last year and also on the day before the closing ceremony. The portals of the famous temple are closed two days after Diwali on the occasion of “Bhaiya-Dhooj.”

Last year on his visit to the shrine situated 11,755 feet above the sea level, PM Modi had laid the foundation for five reconstruction projects in the shrine hill town. He had also disclosed how his visit to the shrine had strengthened his resolve for serving the nation. He had also said that serving the people was true service of the Lord and had also offered ‘Rudrabhishek’ at the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.

PM Modi had also stated on his visit, “I expressed my wish to carry out reconstruction work at Kedarnath to the then Chief Minister of the state who agreed in principle. In my excitement I shared the development with the media and within an hour TV channels flashed it, causing a storm in New Delhi. They (UPA government) viewed the development with a kind of alarm as they thought the Gujarat chief minister will now reach Kedarnath and mounted pressure on the then state government not to agree to my request,” while talking about his proposal to carry out reconstruction work at Kedarnath in 2013 even as deadly flash floods had struck the hill town. He said that he had not been allowed by the then UPA government to carry out reconstruction work at that time.

This goes on to show prime minister Modi’s affinity for the hill shrine. The shrine carries unparalleled importance among the Hindus, being a part of the char dham yatra. In this sense, PM Modi’s decision to visit Kedarnath on Diwali is a significant development.

PM Modi has in the last two years celebrated Diwali in a very special day and it looks like he is going to carry on the same tradition this year as well. In 2016, he celebrated the major festival Sumdo near the India-China border, near Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, with Army and ITBP jawans. Last year, he celebrated Diwali with jawans near the Line of Control (LoC), in Gurez valley in Bandipora. This goes on to show how PM Modi ensures that every time he celebrates Diwali, he makes sure that he sends a very positive, meaningful and welcome message for the countrymen.