CHIDAMBARAM: In what is considered to be the first visit by a national leader in 25 years, BJP president Amit Shah offered prayers at the Sivaloganathar temple and Nandhanar mutt here on Tuesday.
After worshipping at the famous Nataraja temple, Shah arrived at the Sivaloganathar temple and Nandhanar mutt in Omakulam. He was welcomed by the trust’s president Sankaran. Shah offered worship to Lord Sivaloganathar and paid homage at the memorial of Swami Sahajananda, a Dalit spiritual and political leader who established the Nandhanar mutt. He also garlanded the statue of Swami Sahajananda.
Jeyachandran, secretary of the Nandhanar trust, said, “We are happy about Amit Shah’s visit to the Sivaloganathar temple, which is the only big temple for Dalits. Amit Shah is the only national leader, who visited this temple in the past 25 years. Such a VIP visit could make the temple and Nandhanar mutt very popular.”
Earlier, Shah arrived at the Natarajar temple around 10.30 am. A group of Dikshitars headed by I Sarveshwara Dikshitar, secretary of Podhu Dikshitars, welcomed Amit Shah with a ‘Poorna Kumbham’ at the eastern gopuram. The Dikshitars then took Shah and others to the Kanagasabai, where they offered worship to Lord Natarajar. Shah also worshipped Lord Govindarajaperumal present inside in the temple. He was accompanied by Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, national general secretary Muralidhar Rao, national executive member KV Kannan Pillai, president of Tamil Nadu unit Tamilisai Soundararajan.and several local BJP functionaries,
S Kailasa Shankar Dikshitar, founder of Cow Care Centre, submitted a petition to Shah requesting him to take steps to declare cows and bulls as national animals.