PM Modi woos Varanasi, promises to restore Kashi's 'lost glory'

Wooing the electorate in his constituency here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that he has made Kashi his 'Karya Kshetra' so that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can regain the pride of the region, which has lost its shine under the current Samajwadi Party (SP) Government.

Expressing full confidence in his party's chances in the state polls, the Prime Minister said that even if he had not visited Kashi, his own constituency, BJP would have emerged victorious, however, he still wanted to come and address the people as they were close to his heart.

"Back in 2014, I could not visit Varanasi as the Election Commission did not allow me to carry out a rally. Since then I have always wanted to come and speak to you. Kashi for me is not a political area, but I wanted to work here because I wanted to bring back its lost heritage," the Prime Minister said.

Further stating that Kashi is not just a city but a symbol of humanity, he noted that the Centre has undertaken several infrastructure projects for the city.

"I will provide 24 hours electricity. LED bulbs which used to cost around Rs 300-400 now costs between Rs 50-60. They (Opposition) spread lies about 24/7 power supply, but during their temple visit today, there was a power outage," Prime Minister Modi said.

The Prime Minister also noted that his government is working for development of Kashi at mission mode. He said, "We want Varanasi to be a bridge between the ancient and the modern era. Lot of development works that were pending in Kashi have been resumed & are progressing at fast rate."

Meanwhile, the Congress has alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra violated the model code of conduct by holding a road show in Varanasi without permission of poll authorities and asked the Election Commission to take action against the Prime Minister and other senior BJP leaders.

In a letter addressed to Chief Election Comissioner Nasim Zaidi, and Commissioners OP Rawat and AK Jyoti, Congress alleged that Prime Minister Modi conducted a road show between Bharat Hindu University (BHU) to a destination about seven kilometres far from the starting point.

The letter further stated that the road show covered at least three constituency. "It is requested that action may be taken and FIR registered against all BJP leaders including Narendra Modi who were part of the road show," said K C Mittal, AICC secretary incharge of legal and human rights cell.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi took out a road show, offered prayers at the two historic temples and paid tributes to Hindutva ideologue Madan Mohan Malviya today.

Following suit, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav offered their prayers at the temple.

Meanwhile, a total of 57.03 percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 p.m. today in the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.