Modi gets emotional as he visits Belurmath

KOLKATA: Taking a brief spiritual break, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited two famous shrines of West Bengal— Belurmath, with which he has an emotional connect as he had tried in vain to join its order thrice, and Dakshineswar Kali temple— where he offered prayers and meditated.

Upon arrival at Belurmath, the Ramakrishna Mission headquarters, the Prime Minister walked down barefoot from his car and spent around an hour praying in all the temples in the complex while bonding with the monks.

Modi looked visibly emotional after reaching the room where Swami Vivekananda had spent his last days. He sat down near the slippers of 19th century philosophersaint to meditate for around 15 minutes.

Visitors are allowed to glance in the room through the window but the doors were opened for the Prime Minister.

He mixed freely with the monks saying he considers himself a ‘ghar ka ladka’ (one of the family).

“’Ghar la ladka agar ghar aaya hai to uska swagat kiya jata hai kya?’ (If a boy comes to his house do you welcome him?),” Swami Subirananda, assistant secretary of the ‘Math’, quoted the PM as having told them last evening when he went to meet Swami Atmasthananda, president of the order, at a Kolkata hospital.

Modi also stood among the monks for photographs amidst chanting of Vedic ‘shanti mantras’.

He was gifted ‘dhoti’, shawl and books by the ‘Math’ authorities who also gave him ‘prasad’ made of ‘Payesh’ (Bengali sweet dish) and fruits.

At the Dakshineswar Kali temple, located across the Ganga in Kolkata, where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa used to live and worship Goddess Kali, Modi offered floral tributes and performed ‘aarti’ to the presiding deity. BURNPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated to the nation the upgraded IISCO Steel Plant (ISP), that houses the country’s largest blast furnace and has been modernised by the central government at a cost of `16,000 crore.

After modernisation, the plant’s production capacity has increased from 0.85 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 2.9 mtpa.

“I dedicate to the nation the modernised and expanded IISCO steel plant in Burnpur,” Modi said at the function, which was also attended by West Bengal governor KN Tripathi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“This modern plant is an example of how Team India will take the country forward. This plant which was sick, is now standing powerfully on its feet. If the chief minister, the state government had created hurdles, this wouldn’t have been possible,” said Modi.