How does PM Modi visiting temple amount to poll code violation, asks Minister L Murugan

CHENNAI: Wondering how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to a temple or meditating at Kanyakumari amounts to poll code violation, Union Minister L Murugan said on Thursday that the opposition parties are making accusations due to fear of defeat in the elections.

The opposition parties, he said, were putting up feeble arguments only for the sake of opposing the Prime Minister.

"How can the Prime Minister visiting a temple and meditating at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari amount to a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, " Murugan asked, as Modi arrived at Kanyakumari, 'The Land's End', on Thursday evening.

After darshan at the ancient Sri Bhagavathi Amman temple on the shore close to the tri-sea confluence, Modi boarded a launch operated by the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation and reached Vivekananda Rock Memorial mid-sea off the coast of Kanyakumari.

Speaking to reporters here, the union minister said the opposition parties are overcome with the fear of defeat in the elections and hence are raising the issue.

"Who can stop the Prime Minister from undertaking the meditation? Even late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was involved in many spiritual activities. She renovated temples, performed Kumbhabhishekam, and even visited temples, " Murugan said.

The former AIADMK supremo favoured the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and also supported the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said.

Ally and PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss justified Modi's action and said there was nothing wrong with the prime minister taking up meditation in Kanyakumari.

"This and the Model Code of Conduct violation are two unrelated issues, " he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, DMK students' wing President R Rajiv Gandhi said though meditating is Modi's right, his actions would affect tourists, local fishermen, and traders.

While the fishermen will not be able to fish for three days due to his visit, the restriction on trade and tourism activity at Kanyakumari will affect around 50,000 people who depend on tourists for their livelihood.

Further, the prime minister's visit coincides with the summer tourism season in Kanyakumari, which attracts over one lakh footfalls in May, he argued.

Unlike Modi's event, Swami Vivekananda's meditation was bereft of pomp, Gandhi said in a post on social media platform X.