Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 31 (ANI): Union Minister of State L Murugan said that visiting a temple cannot be a violation of the model code of conduct amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, and no one can stop the Prime Minister from 45-hour-long meditation in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.
"How can visiting a temple be an election violation? The opposition parties are afraid of electoral defeat. Don't comment on everything for the sake of saying something. No one can stop the Prime Minister from doing meditation in Tamil Nadu," Murugan said, speaking to reporters at Chennai airport on Thursday.
PM Modi headed to Kanyakumari after concluding the weeks-long Lok Sabha election campaign for meditation at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial from May 30 to June 1.
PM Modi's spiritual sojourn comes just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results on June 4.
"The Prime Minister has been busy with election work for the past 3 years. After completing his work, he went to Uttarakhand for meditation. This time he has come to Kanyakumari after finishing his Tamil Nadu visit," he added.
Notably, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election too, PM Modi took a similar trip to the Kedarnath shrine before the final phase of the elections and meditated at a cave.
The Congress has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day meditation retreat in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari from Thursday to Saturday would violate the '48-hour silence period provision' of the Model Code of Conduct ahead of the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha polling.
The campaigning for the seventh phase of polling was over on Thursday.
Speaking about former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha's involvement in spiritual work, Murugan said, "We know how much former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha was involved in spiritual work in Tamil Nadu. It is known that they renovated the temples and performed Kumbabhishekams."
Murugan also mentioned that Jayalalitha wanted the Ram Janmabhoomi temple to be built at Ayodhya and was also in support of the abrogation of Article 370.
"It was the dream of everyone in India to build a Ram temple. She (Jayalalitha) was determined to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. She asked when the Centre was going to remove Article 370. Jayalalitha has been a believer in Hinduism and spirituality," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
Speaking about the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu, Murugan said, "Strict action should be taken against sexual harassment of girls in schools, and the Tamil Nadu government should take action to arrest whoever the real culprits are."
"There is no law and order in Tamil Nadu. I don't know whether there is a government present in Tamil Nadu. Murder, robbery, rape, sexual harassment, and cannabis are seen across Tamil Nadu because the Chief Minister is not active in protecting law and order in the state," he added.
On the BJP's electoral performance in Tamil Nadu, Murugan said, "There is huge support for PM Modi in Tamil Nadu. People are giving personal support and love to PM Modi...BJP is going to make a historical difference in Tamil Nadu politics. There is going to be a festival on June 4 and BJP is going to get a huge victory."
Slamming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Murugan said, "June 4 will be the day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi disappears from politics. It is questionable whether the Congress will win at least 40 constituencies."
"Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister for the third time after winning more than 400 constituencies," he added. (ANI)
