Making a brief stop at Kerala before embarking for the Maldives — his first international visit since becoming the prime minister for a second term — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the famed Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple.
PM Modi was given a traditional welcome by priests at the doorsteps of the shrine.
He also performed the ‘thulabharam’ ritual for which the temple authorities had reportedly arranged over 100 kg of lotus flowers.
The Guruvayur Temple is divine and magnificent. Prayed at this iconic Temple for the progress and prosperity of India. pic.twitter.com/sB5I4GEYZA
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 8, 2019
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, State Devasom Minister Kadakampally Surendran along with other senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
He flew into Guruvayoor from Kochi earlier in the morning and arrived at the shrine at 10.20 am, dressed in traditional Kerala dhoti and white shawl. Modi had arrived in Kochi late Friday night and was received at the naval airport.
PM Modi had visited the temple in 2008 soon after he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second time.
PM Modi will begin his two-day official visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka today.
“These visits indicate the importance we attach to the policy of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and will further cement ties with key maritime neighbours,” PM Modi tweeted ahead of his visit.
From the Maldives, he will go to Sri Lanka on Sunday.
It is learnt that the Maldives will honour Modi with the Order of Nishanizzuddeen, a prestigious award.
The visit to the Maldives is at the invitation of Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between the two countries.
The visit to Sri Lanka is reportedly being made to express India’s solidarity with the neighbouring country in the wake of the serial bomb blasts that killed over 250 people on April 21.