PM thanks EC for permitting 2-day rest

KedarnatH/Badrinath: After spending the night meditating at a cave near Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday 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.
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. Polling for the seventh and the last phase of the general election was held Sunday.
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 and he kept looking at the shrine through a small window.
He said, “I am fortunate, that I am getting the opportunity to come to Kedarnath for many years.”
The prime minister then boarded an Indian Air Force helicopter to Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand’s “char dham” religious circuit, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
Modi offered prayers at the innermost sanctum in Badrinath. Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chief Mohan Prasad Thapliyal said the prime minister offered prayers at the temple for around 20 minutes and was given a greeting card made on a “bhojpatra” (birch leaves) by the temple’s priests. He was also given a shawl by the residents of Mana village, he said.
The prime minister took a walk inside the temple complex and later, shook hands with the devotees and locals, Thapliyal said, adding that Modi also met pilgrims waiting near the shrine. (PTI)