Swayed by welfare schemes, TN farmer builds temple for PM Modi

A farmer has built a temple for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his farm at a village near here,saying he was impressed and had benefitted by welfare schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The 50-year old farmer, P Sankar, inaugurated the temple last week at his farm in sleepy Erakudi village about 63 km from here and performs 'aarti,' every day.

A traditional 'kolam' (rangoli) welcomes people to the modest, 8 x 8 ft tiled roof temple, built at a cost of about Rs 1.2 lakh and a smiling bust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is placed at the centre.

While a traditional lamp is placed on both the sides of Modi's bespectacled bust, it also features his trademark white beard and hairstyle.

Complete with a tilak on the forehead, the bust sports the Prime Minister in a pink kurta and a blue shawl.

The statue has been adorned with garlands and flowers.

"The work to build a temple for Ayya (a Tamil word equivalent to Sir in English and it refers here to PM Modi) began about eight months back.

I could not complete it immediately due to constraints and the temple was inaugurated last week," Sankar said.

Asked what prompted him to build a temple and offer worship, he told PTI he had benefitted from Centre's welfare measures and liked the Prime Minister for such initiatives.

"I received Rs 2,000 (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme for farmers, gas (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana) and toilet (Individual Household Latrine Scheme) facilities," he said.

"I like him for his personality as well. I have been keenly watching him for long."
Sankar said he has consented to become a member of the BJP since he "liked Ayya."