M M Jasim :
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his second day visit by offering prayers at the 800 years old Dhakeshwari National Temple in the city on Sunday.
He went there around 8:40am and offered prayers. He spent some time for offering prayers at the Dhakeshwari Temple.
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, local MP Haji Mohammad Salim, President of Mahanagar Sarbajaneen Puja Udjapan Committee Jitendra Lal Bhowmik and General Secretary Narayan Saha Moni received the Indian Prime Minister.
The sebyeta (Care taker) Prodeep Chakraborty took Modi to the main idol and Modi offered prayers and Aarti there.
He presented the Indian Prime Minister a replica of Goddess Dhakeshwari after the prayers.
Liberation War Sector Commander Major General (retd) CR Dutta adorned him with a white and red shawl.
The Mahanagar Sarbajaneen Puja Udjapan Committee gave Indian PM a crest.
Modi also visited the adjacent temple of Shiva and offered prayers.
After around 15 minutes, around 9:10am, he went to Dhaka Ramkrishna Mission at Gopibagh from the temple. Dhaka Ramkrishna Mission is a branch of Belur Math, which Modi visited last month when he was in Kolkata.
RK Mission and Math (Belur) General Secretary Swami Suhitananda and Dhaka Mission Principal Swami Dhruveshananda welcomed him at the mission.
He took part in a chorus prayer and was adorned with a saffron sash.
The mission presented the Indian Prime Minister two commemorative and a biography of Swami Vivekananda.
It may be mentioned that more than 15 members of the minority community in Bangladesh got at least a a chance to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Modi spent about twenty minutes in the city’s iconic Dhakeswari Kali temple and exchanged pleasantries with the community representatives. However, it created great excitement for the part of the members of Puja Udjapon (management) committees and the minority community leaders, as for the first time an Indian Prime Minister is visiting the Dhakeswari temple.
