PM Modi visits Kedarnath Temple, offers special prayers at Himalayan shrine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Kedarnath Temple located in Uttarakhand on Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river. During his visit, the prime minister offered special prayers in the sanctum of the temple. After Kedarnath, the prime minister will also pay a visit to another Himalayan shrine of Badrinath, dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, on Sunday.

The prime minister's temple visit comes a day after campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 ended. DGP (law and order) Ashok Kumar said that security around the temple has been strengthened ahead of Modi’s visit.

The Election Commission is learnt to have given its go ahead to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand beginning Saturday while “reminding” the prime minister's office that the model code of conduct is still in force.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had sought the Election Commission's permission for Modi's two-day official visit to Uttarakhand. 

"The visit is official so it can be undertaken. But the office of the PM has been reminded that the poll code is still in force," a source said without elaborating.  

Earlier on Friday, the prime minister reached Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on his two-day visit to the Himalayan state. The portals of the both the shrines were reopened for devotees after winter break early this month.