Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 31 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Ghazipur, Paras Nath Rai slammed the opposition for criticising PM Modi for meditating at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari and said has anyone stopped the Opposition from performing meditation.
He also exuded confidence that he will come out victorious and the party will win more than 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for performing meditation at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari and said the pilgrimage site is of high prominence for Indian culture.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, Paras Nath Rai said, "I am confident that I will win the elections. I have always worked with full dedication in my life. When I used to teach in college, every year some of my students made it to the list of top performing students in the state."
"We will surely win more than 400 seats, no one can stop it from happening...Day by day, the popularity of PM Modi is increasing," he added.
BJP's Paras Nath Rai is in the electoral fray against Samajwadi Party's incumbent MP Afzal Ansari, who is the brother of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
The voting on the seat will take place in the last phase on June 1.
The BJP candidate said it is very important to promote the religious sites that are of cultural prominence to the country.
Prime Minister Modi is in Kanniyakumari on a spiritual visit. He is meditating at the Dhyan Mandapam, the place where revered Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision about 'Bharat Mata'. He will continue his meditation till June 1.
"It is a site of high importance. It is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea...Earlier PM Modi went inside water in Dwarka, went to Kedarnath after elections, only he (PM Modi) can do this, no one else is capable," Rai said.
"Some people ask will we get food from Ram Mandir? These sites are at the centre of the country's culture, Lakhs of people from across the country are coming here to worship. Will all of them be on fast? No institution in the country can give as much to the industry as these religious sites; Kashi Vishwanath and Ayodhya," he further added.
Refuting the allegations by the Opposition that it is a way for PM Modi to grab attention ahead of the polls, the BJP candidate said, "Has anyone stopped them (Opposition) from performing meditation? Has the Election Commission put a ban on them meditating?"
The Prime Minister is known to undertake spiritual journeys at the end of election campaigns. In line with this, he will reach Kanyakumari on May 30 and stay there till June 1. In 2019, he visited Kedarnath, and in 2014, he visited Shivaji's Pratapgarh.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)
