india

Updated: Jun 08, 2019 23:08 IST

It is time to shed negativity and surge ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while taking a pledge to rebuild new India after offering prayers at the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur in Kerala.

“Positivity reflected well in this election. Negativity has lost. The entire world is watching the spirit of our democracy. From the land of Guruvayur I take a pledge to rebuild a new India. We can rise up to expectations of 130 crore people”, he said addressing his first public meeting after becoming the PM for the second consecutive time. He began his 30-minute speech saying his visit to the temple gave him new vigor and direction.

The PM said people may ask why he chose Kerala, where the BJP drew a blank in the election, for his first public appearance but he felt Kerala is as much as his Varanasi and he did not feel any difference between them. He said though elections have their place and prominence, the government’s responsibility is towards the entire population. He thanked voters for the festive spirit of democracy and said those who did not vote for the BJP are his responsibility like those voted for him.

“Political pundits could not gauge people’s mood. So did people who conduct lengthy poll surveys. But people gave a strong mandate for the BJP. People are gods in elections,” he said taking a dig at some of the poll surveys which predicted Modi could not cough up last election’s numbers. He said the BJP was not working for mere electoral politics and was keen on building the country and ensuring India gets its place of pride in the world and thanked people for reposing their faith in his party.

Talking about the recent nipah virus threat the PM said both the union and state governments will work on tandem to contain the deadly virus. He said there was no need of any worry on this front. However he did not mention anything about the contentious Sabarimala issue. After the Supreme Court verdict in September which allowed women of all ages to worship at the temple the state had witnessed violent protests and it was cited as the prime reason for the rout of left parties. Out of 20, the Congress-led UDF had won 19 seats. Though the BJP led the agitation it could not cash in on the anger of devotees, verdict shows.

Reached the temple town in the morning from Kochi, where he stayed overnight, Modi spent 25 minutes at the temple. He offerd thulabharam’, a ritual in which a person is weighed alongside a commodity after fulfilling a vow or wish, with lotus. The temple had procured 112 kg lotus flowers from Nagarcoil in neighboring Tamil Nadu for this. The temple board said the PM’s office has specifically requested it to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims during his trip. Earlier he was scheduled to spend one hour at the temple but later cut short it to 25 minutes.