Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday questioned the timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Nepal tour and his visit to an iconic temple on the day of Karnataka polling.
“As there is model code of conduct in Karnataka, PM Modi planned to pray at temples in Nepal instead, just to influence voters. This is not a good trend for democracy. Why did he only choose today as the day? ”tweeted the former Rajasthan Chief Minister.
On Saturday, Mr. Modi was the first world leader to offer prayers at at the holy Muktinath temple — sacred to Hindus and Buddhists — and renowned Pashupatinath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
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‘Message to Hindus’
“In Gujarat also, he held a road show after voting. Today, he has adopted a new path. When Karnataka is polling today, he has gone to Nepal and is worshipping in temples there, as he could not do so in the southern state due to elections,”said Mr. Gehlot.
Mr. Gehlot alleged that the Prime Minister’s visit to the Himalayan nation was aimed at ‘giving a message to Hindus’ in Karnataka and alleged that the PM violated of the model code of conduct.
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The Congress leader’s insinuation was that the visit to the Lord Shiva’s temple was primarily aimed at wooing the dominant Lingayat caste who were Shivaites.
“If one asks him (Modi), no other person is Hindu, except the BJP and RSS people, besides him and Amit Shah,” he added.