New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the countrymen on the occasion of the start of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra. Meanwhile, an interesting story related to Prime Minister Modi’s Jagannath Rath Yatra has been shared from an old social media account named ‘Modi Archive’.
In this post, some photos related to the Rath Yatra of the year 1985-86 have been shared. It is told that Narendra Modi had made the Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad his home.
A post from an account named ‘Modi Archive’ wrote, “In an attempt to please its voters in 1985-86, the then Congress government in Gujarat banned the 101st Jagannath Rath Yatra. Restrictions and curfews were common during the Jagannath Rath Yatra during the reign of the Congress. However, a determined young man refused to accept this ban and tried to challenge it. Preparations for the Yatra continued behind the scenes. The chariot was prepared and Mahaprabhu was seated on it. Then, something extraordinary happened. The elephant attached to the chariot broke free from its bonds and started moving forward pulling Mahaprabhu’s chariot along with it.”
The post further stated, ”The ban imposed by the Congress government had now become ineffective. The Jagannath Rath Yatra proceeded with a grand procession, which was named ‘Swayambhu Rath Yatra’ that year. The young man who challenged the ban of the Congress government was- ‘Narendra Modi’. He came to Ahmedabad in 1970, when Gandhinagar was set to be replaced as the capital of Gujarat. He had neither income nor a roof over his head, so he made the Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad his home.”
After serving for a few decades, he eventually became the Chief Minister of the state. Under his leadership, the Jagannath Rath Yatra was taken out every year with great pomp and enthusiasm. As per traditions, the then chief minister Narendra Modi also symbolically cleaned the road through which the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra passed.
