'Those who have faith in Vatican...': Acharya Pramod Krishnam slams Congress for opposing PM Modi's meditation trip

Former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Thursday hit out at the grand old party for objecting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned 48-hour meditation trip in Kanyakumari from May 30. In an apparent reference to top leadership of the Congress, he said: "Those who have faith in the Vatican and abroad, won't understand this and that's why they are opposing PM Modi."

"This election of 2024 is a 'Dharmyudh'. On one side, it's those who are with Dharm, and on the other side are those who want to eliminate Dharm. 'Asuri shaktiyon se ladne ke liye, unka vinaash karne ke liye, ek adhyatmik shakti ki jarurat hoti hai'. I think to gain spiritual power, PM Modi is going to Swami Vivekananda. It's a subject of spiritual awakening and faith," he said while speaking to news agency ANI. 

Hours after news surfaced that Modi will meditate at Kanyakumari’s Vivekananda Rock, the Congress moved the Election Commission, saying the meditation programme by the prime minister was a "clear violation" of the silence period ahead of the June 1 voting in Modi's Varanasi constituency and other seats. 

A delegation of Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Singhvi, and Syed Naseer Hussain met the EC and handed over a memorandum in this regard along with 27 other complaints of alleged model code violations by the BJP in the last few days.  

"The said trip would be widely televised and would therefore be shown during the 48-hour silence period in Varanasi, the constituency from which Shri Narendra Modi is contesting," the Congress memorandum to the EC said. "Through the meditation trip, Shri Narendra Modi is attempting to circumvent the 48-hour silence period and unfairly leverage the ethnocultural significance of the chosen location in an attempt to bolster his campaign and maximise his vote share in violation of the Representation of the People Act, as well as Model Code of Conduct," the party also said.