A farmer and BJP partyman has constructed a temple for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at own expense at his agricultural farm at Eragudi village near Thuraiyur in the district.
Modi admirer
Sankar, 50, president of the party's agriculture wing in Eragudi, who claims he has been a Modi admirer for about a decade, installed Mr. Modi’s idol two days ago.
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He could only construct the temple now as crops had failed repeatedly, and earnings were paltry. "Now that there is considerable returns from agricultural operations, thanks to the spells of rainfall in recent months, I could realise my dream. If not for the funding under a Central Scheme, I could not have raised tapioca in my farm through drip-irrigation method," Mr. Sankar said, hoping the temple could be consecrated in the presence of senior BJP leaders. He claims he has been sleeping on a cot close to the temple at night, fearing it may be vandalised.
”We were initially not comfortable with the idea. But my father was very keen and we started," his son Satish Kumar studying B.Tech in Anna University, Chennai, said.
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The small 'temple' featuring the bust-size idol of the Prime Minister also features late Chief Ministers Jayalalithaa and M.G. Ramachandran, the present Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mahatma Gandhi and late Chief Minister Kamaraj, right above the portraits of deities.