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Sorry - this page has been removed. Indian PM Narendra Modi 'appalled' by temple built to worship him
(4 months later)
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. India’s prime minister has said he is unhappy that some of his fans have built a temple to deify him, adding that such an act contradicts tradition.
Hundreds of Narendra Modi’s followers in the western city of Rajkot donated funds for a temple that features a seated statue of him and is topped out with a wind gauge shaped like a lotus, the symbol of his Bharatiya Janata party.
For further information, please contact: “I was appalled,” Modi said. “This is shocking and against India’s great traditions. Building such temples is not what our culture teaches us.”
His reaction unnerved some of those involved in the project, who plan to replace the statue of the prime minister with the idol of a Hindu god, but others were unfazed. “We love Modi and worship him because he is the finest leader we have ever had,” said Paresh Rawal, an edible oil trader who donated the land for the temple.
Modi, the former leader of Gujarat state, where the temple is located, swept to power last year in the biggest national election victory in three decades, and has since led his party to a string of state poll wins.
But the BJP suffered a dramatic election defeat in the capital this week, when it was trounced by an upstart anti-corruption party.