Tiruchirapalli: In keeping with trend of building temples in admiration of political leaders and celebrities, a 50-year-old farmer has constructed a temple, the first of its kind dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Erakudi, a nondescript village in Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu.
The 8x8 feet tiled roof temple with the cement bust of Mr Modi was erected in the farm land of P Sankar, as a token of gratitude to the PM for implementing various welfare schemes for the poor and downtrodden people.
With a ''tilak'' on the forehead, the bespectacled bust of Mr Modi sporting a blue shawl attracts huge crowd daily. The temple was opened a week ago.
The sanctum has portraits of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran (MGR), former chief minister J Jayalalitha, BJP chief Amit Shah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Mahatma Gandhiji and Congress leader K Kamaraj on the top row, and portraits of deities on the second row.
The temple was built at a cost of Rs 1.20 lakh despite financial constraints and it took nearly eight months to erect the temple. He has been worshipping the statue and performing ''aarti'' daily.
An ardent follower of late AIADMK leaders MGR and Jayalalitha, he said he was impressed with the functioning of the PM.
Hence, he went to the famous hill-shrine of Palani in Dindigul district and prayed Lord Dhandayuthapani Swami that Mr Modi should come to power for second term before the last Parliamentary elections.
''As my prayer was fulfilled, I will go to the temple and tonsure my head, shortly'', he told UNI.
He was a beneficiary of Central schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Individual Household Latrine Scheme etc.
A school dropout, Sankar's ambition is to make his younger son, who is studying Class 12 a doctor. His elder daughter, an engineering graduate has been preparing to appear for the competitive exams and his second son is presently pursuing B E in Anna University.
Sankar was planning to perform consecration for Modi Temple in the next two to three months. He was also planning to invite senior BJP leaders for the proposed consecration.
''I'll be very happy, if the Prime Minister comes to this village and visit the temple'', he added(UNI)