Govt authorities remove idol after Modi slams supporters for building temple

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed his supporters for building a Modi temple in Rajkot, government authorities have removed the idol from the location. According to The Hindustan Times, “Rajkot district collector Manish Chandra issued order asking for removal of idol and cancellation of the inauguration.” [caption id=“attachment_2096077” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narendra Modi. AFP[/caption] Earlier the inauguration of the temple was cancelled as the Prime Minister had criticised the construction of the temple terming it ‘appalling’. “PM Modi remains in our heart, will take part in Clean India movement,” Ramesh Undhad, one of Modi’s supporters involved in construction of the temple, told ANI. He also added that instead of a Modi temple, he will now build a “Bharat Mata” temple. Modi tweeted against the temple and strongly criticised his supporters for constructing it. “Have seen the news about a Temple being built in my name. I was appalled. This is shocking & against India’s great traditions,” the Prime Minister tweeted, adding that it made him very sad. He even urged the people to spend their time and resources on building a clean India instead of building a temple for him. “Building such Temples is not what our culture teaches us. Personally, it made me very sad. Would urge those doing it not to do it,” he said. The temple, with a bust of Modi in the sanctum, stands on Kothariya road and is scheduled to be inaugurated on 16 February. “It is a first of its kind in Gujarat, temple of a living person,” said Jayesh Patel, leader of Om Yuva Group. More than 350 members of the group joined hands to construct it by collecting small donations and now plan to conduct daily worship there, he said. “Members of our organisation have been worshipping Modi as God from the time he contested his first Assembly election from Rajkot and became the Chief Minister of Gujarat,” Patel said. “We are very much impressed by the work he did as the Chief Minister and the work he is doing now as the Prime Minister, so we decided to construct a temple for him. “Initially we had placed a framed photo. Now we have installed an idol, spending Rs 1.7 lakh,” Patel said, adding, that the total cost of construction was around Rs seven lakh. “Our members, earning from five thousand to fifteen thousand rupees a month, contributed,” he said. Patel said that the 350 sq yard plot of land where it stands was provided by the Kothariya Gram Panchayant ten years ago for religious purpose. The village is now part of Rajkot Municipal Corporation. Members are hoping to get a BJP minister from the Centre or the state to inaugurate it. The group members were unfazed by the BJP’s defeat in Delhi assembly elections and they had nothing do with any political party, said Patel. With PTI inputs