Dubai: Election campaigning ended in India on Friday, however, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to Twitter feeds in India. His pictures meditating in a cave near Kedarnath went viral with tweeps asking why he is meditating with cameramen clicking pictures.
Pictures shared by the BJP Uttarakhand handle on Twitter show PM Modi meditating in a cave, dressed in saffron robes.
In what seemed a quick response to the criticism, sources confirmed to news agency Asian News International (ANI) that media was allowed only before Modi began meditating. @ANI tweeted: “Sources: Prime Minister Narendra Modi trekked 2 kilometres to the cave and on request of media allowed cameras to make initial visuals. PM will begin his meditation in a few hours which will last till tomorrow morning. No media or personnel will be allowed in the vicinity of the cave.”
Earlier today, the prime minister offered prayers at the Kedarnath temple. He is set to visit the Badrinath shrine tomorrow before heading back to Delhi in the afternoon.
The state’s BJP handle also shared a video of PM Modi, dressed in traditional pahari (mountainous region) clothes speaking to officials about the ongoing project.
While many shared the picture and videos questioning the theatrics behind the costumes, others sarcastically said that Modi can campaign even without speaking.
A few tweeps took the opportunity to question what was being done about issues that the country was facing.
Meanwhile, some tweeps continued to highlight how Modi did not answer any questions during his first press conference as PM in five years on Friday. The hashtag #MuteModi trended along with the meditation pictures.
Tweep @Bhai_saheb posted: “Yesterday Modiji was meditating in press conference and today at Kedarnath.”
And, @ManojMehra2610 posted: “Modi who used to mock Manmohan Singh for being silent, he himself behaved like a ‘Silent Puppet’ in a press conference! #MuteModi”
Varanasi, PM Modi’s constituency, is also voting tomorrow from which he is seeking a second term.
According to Indian news website NDTV: “The Election Commission gave its nod to PM Modi’s visit to the Himalayan shrines with a reminder that the model code of conduct is still in force. On his way to the hilly state, the PM Modi also shared some scenic photographs from the state.”
