Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday blamed the Congress for the opportunity he lost as Gujarat Chief Minister to carry out reconstruction work in the hills destroyed by the 2013 deluge here.
Offering prayers at the Kedarnath temple, a day before it closes for winter, he said his visit to the Himalayan temple had strengthened his resolve to serve the nation.
Serving the people was true service to the Lord, the Prime Minister said, after offering “rudrabhiskek” at the high-altitude temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
As Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Modi said, he had offered to take the responsibility of reconstructing areas surrounding the temple when tragedy struck in 2013, killing thousands of people.
People from different States had perished and he could not stop himself from rushing to the State after the disaster, he said.
Lost opportunity
“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,” he said.
The then Chief Minister had no choice but to issue a statement saying it did not need the help of the Gujarat government, Mr. Modi said.
“I went back disappointed. But perhaps Baba [Lord Shiva] had decided that the responsibility of doing reconstruction work at Kedarnath should be assigned to no one else but to Baba’s son,” he said.
The Chief Minister at the time was Vijay Bahuguna, who was with the Congress but is now with the BJP.
Mr. Modi laid the foundation stones for five major reconstruction projects at Kedarpuri for improved facilities for devotees, construction of retaining walls and ghats at the Mandakini and the Saraswati rivers, an approach road to the temple and reconstructing Adi Sankara’s tomb, which was devastated in 2013.
He described the projects as ambitious and expensive, but said there would be no dearth of funds to ensure their time-bound completion.
The Prime Minister said he would invite the corporate sector to join hands to develop a grander Kedarnath.
Asking people to make Uttarakhand a favourite destination for tourists, he said the State should aspire to become an organic one by 2022, when India marks 75 years of Independence.
“Blessings from Kedarnath will lead us to fulfil the aspirations of every Indian citizen in 2022,” he said.
Development plans
“Our endeavour is to harness the youthful vigour and water of the mountain State for its all-round development ... development is gaining ground in Uttarakhand.”
Work on the Chardham road project had begun, he said.
The Prime Minister also got nostalgic remembering his days in Garurchatti, near Kedarnath, before he entered politics.
“Some acquaintances I met today reminded me of my time spent in Garurchatti. They were important moments of my life. I wanted to settle down permanently in this soil and spend all my life at Baba’s feet. But Baba perhaps willed it differently,” he said.
“He perhaps did not want me to spend all my life at the feet of just one Baba and sent me out to serve 125 crore people of the country as service to them is service to God.”
Mr. Modi previously visited Kedarnath in May when the portals of the Himalayan temple were reopened for devotees after remaining closed for six months for winter.
