As the curtain closes on two months of campaigning for the Indian Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is travelling to Kanyakumari to begin a 45-hour meditation at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. The meditation will end in the afternoon of June 1. Exit polls will be televised on June 1 after the final phase of voting. The vote counting will take place on June 4 and the nation will know who will lead the next government. Before leaving for Kanyakumari, PM Modi said that the Indian people have made up their mind and his government will be re-elected for a third term. He said that a time-bound plan for the government for the next five years has already been drawn up but he will start by implementing a 125-day action plan. Opposition leaders have said that PM Modi’s meditation in Kanyakumari was a “gimmick” to influence voters who will vote on June 1. Congress leaders alleged that the meditation, held under the full light of cameras, was a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct. A delegation of Congress leaders has filed a complaint with the Election Commission.
Indian National Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said meditating at Vivekananda Rock is not necessary to understand Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and understand the pain and suffering of the common man. “You need to introspect and read a lot,” he advised. Indian National Congress leader Jairam Ramesh quipped that PM Modi will have plenty of time to meditate as he will be stepping down as prime minister after June 4. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said PM Modi had gone to Kanyakumari to meditate after getting the people to vote in scorching heat, but the people would surely teach him a lesson. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said it was a “marketing gimmick”. He questioned what was the need for him to take so many cameras to show he was meditating. Mamata Banerjee, leader of the Indian National Congress party, said, “The people have never seen a prime minister who indulges in gimmicks. There is dignity in the office of prime minister. Otherwise, no one would take a camera to a meditation session.”There was a swift response from leaders who were till recently leaders of the Congress.
Sanjay Nirupam, who was expelled from the Congress on April 3 for “indiscipline”, said meditation is necessary for peace of mind. “Meditation is a spiritual means of self-purification and is part of Indian culture. Those who seek intoxication to relieve fatigue will not understand the true meaning of meditation.” Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who was expelled from the Congress on February 11 for visiting the Ram temple in Ayodhya, said, “PM Modi meditates to gain energy to fight evil forces. Those who follow the Vatican tradition and not Hindu spiritualism will never understand its importance.” In Kanyakumari on Thursday, PM Modi first offered prayers at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and then went to the Dhyan Mandapam at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and began meditating. It was here, in December 1892, where the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean meet, that Swami Vivekananda sat on a rock and meditated for three days before delivering his historic speech at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, USA in 1893. It was on this sacred rock that Swami Vivekananda realised the true spiritual nature of Mother India and spoke of his dream of a revived and prosperous Bharat. In 1963, former general secretary of the RSS, Eknath Ranade, with the help of donations from citizens and state governments, established the Vivekananda Kendra to build this memorial. The then President VV Giri inaugurated the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in 1970.
PM Modi has pledged to achieve Vikshit Bharat (developed India) as his goal for his third term, so it was only natural that he would visit Kanyakumari to spend some time in meditation, away from the heat and dust of the election campaign. It was surprising to see experienced political leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Mamata Banerjee raising issues with PM Modi’s meditation at Vivekananda Rock. Both of them know that this is in no way a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and that PM Modi’s meditation at Vivekananda Rock will not give him any electoral advantage. However, the opposition parties have brought the issue to public attention by filing complaints and raising questions about the meditation. The Indian National Congress and other opposition leaders also made the same mistake when they boycotted the dedication ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Some leaders said that they were not invited, but the Vishwa Hindu Parishad maintained that all opposition leaders were invited. Some leaders said the temple was only partially constructed and could not hold a dedication ceremony as per Hindu rituals, to which the Shankaracharya replied.One leader questioned the need for such a temple, to which Modi responded at the rally.
Throughout the two-month long election campaign, the opposition gave Modi ample opportunity. Rahul Gandhi’s political advisor Sam Pitroda floated the idea of a US-style inheritance tax. Mani Shankar Aiyar threw two no-balls. First, he said India should respect Pakistan because it has an atomic bomb. Then he used the adjective “alleged” to describe the 1962 Chinese invasion. Both times, Modi threw no-balls to the boundary. Now, questions are being raised over Modi’s meditation at Kanyakumari. Naturally, the backlash will be huge. It would have been better if the opposition had remained silent. Modi’s meditation would not have been an issue.
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