Gold crown weighing 1.25 kg offered to Lord Hanuman at Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi

To mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 69th birthday, a man on Monday offered a gold crown weighing 1.25 kg to Lord Hanuman at Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi.

The man -- Arvind Singh -- had taken a pledge to offer gold crown to Lord Hanuman if PM Modi, who represents the Varanasi parliamentary constituency, returns to power at centre for a consecutive second-term.

"Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, I took a vow to offer gold crown weighing 1.25 kg to Lord Hanuman if Modiji formed the government for the second time," he told ANI.

"He (PM Modi) is the one, who is building the nation in a way that was not done in the last 75 years. So, it was decided that this crown would be offered to Lord Hanuman a day before his birthday so that his and India's future should shine like gold. It is a gift to him from the people of Kashi," a priest said.

Late on Monday night, PM Modi reached Ahmedabad and was welcomed by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at the airport. He will be celebrating his birthday in the state.

BJP is celebrating PM Modi's birthday as "Seva Saptah" from September 14 to September 20. The party has announced that several social initiatives will be undertaken by the party leaders across the nation during this week-long period.