New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at a temple in Bangladesh’s Orakandi, the birthplace of Hindu mystic figure and Matua community’s spiritual guru Harichand Thakur.
The prime minister’s visit to the shrine became the subject of controversy when opposition parties saw the move as an attempt by the BJP to woo Matua voters in West Bengal, where the first phase of voting began on Saturday. Voters from the community have the ability to swing results in as many as 30 assembly constituencies.
Former chief election commissioners had told The Wire that while there indeed may be political significance to Modi’s visit to Orakandi, the Election Commission could not take any action since it is “not technically” a violation of the model code of conduct.
The prime minister is on a two-day visit to Bangladesh and met his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Friday.
Modi, who was wearing a mask, offered prayers at the Harichand-Guruchand Temple, where he was welcomed with ‘Dhaak, Shankh, Ulu’ in line with local rituals.
Orakandi is the abode of hundreds of Hindu Matua community, a large number of whom are residents of West Bengal.
Ahead of his visit, Modi had said he is looking forward to his interaction with representatives of the Matua community at Orakandi, from where Sri Sri Harichand Thakur disseminated his pious message.
Before the visit to Orakandi, Modi also offered prayers at the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple in Ishwaripur village in Bangladesh’s southwestern Shatkhira district, bordering India. Here, the prime Minister placed a handmade ‘mukut’, made of silver with gold plating on Goddess kali. It was made over three weeks by a local artisan.
According to Hindu mythology, the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths, scattered across India and neighbouring countries.
When Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh in 2015, he had offered puja at Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka.
Bangladesh has taken extra security measures for the Indian premier’s visit in the wake of protests by few leftist and Islamist groups. Four deaths were reported as hardliners clashed with police in Chittagong.
In 2016, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said their latest vital sample statistics report found the country’s total population to be 15.89 crore by the end of 2015, with the number of Hindus at 1.70 crore in the Muslim-majority nation.
(With PTI inputs from Dhaka)