Lord Shiva chose me for development of Kashi Vishwanath Dham: PM Modi

Laying the foundation of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said ‘Bhole Baba’ (Lord Shiva) had chosen him for the development of Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

Addressing the gathering after laying the foundation of the project, Modi said: “I had been thinking about Vishwanath Dham for long. I visited Kashi many times even when I was not in politics. Since then I used to think that one must do something for the development and beautification of the temple complex.”

Recalling his first visit to Varanasi as PM in 2014 where he said that ‘Maa Ganga’ (Mother Ganga) had called him, he said, “Today I feel that I was called for such projects. Perhaps, Bhole Baba has chosen me for the development of Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The dream has come true today.”

He said every process was followed to ensure that the people’s faith was not hurt.

“The foundation laying of Kashi Vishwanath corridor project is a festival of ‘mukti’ (liberation) of ‘Bhole Baba’ because he was surrounded by walls from all sides. He must be facing problem in breathing for many centuries,” Modi said.

“Buildings were acquired for the project that would bring in facilities. The project will give a feeling of splendour and grandeur to devotees,” he said.

Modi added that after the buildings acquired for the project were demolished, about 40 temples were found near the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

“The entire temple complex is now under the process of rejuvenation and results are visible,” the PM said.

He thanked the people for providing their buildings which were acquired for the project and hailed the officials for working under the guidance of chief minister Yogi Adityanath to make the project a reality.

“Had the previous government supported us, I would have been inaugurating Kashi Vishwanath Dham instead of laying its foundation,” the PM said.

“Kashi Vishwanath temple has always remained on the target of enemies. Many a times, it was attacked and vandalised but it continued to survive because of the strong faith of the people,” he added.

“During his visit to Varanasi over a century ago, Mahatma Gandhi had said that the temple should be developed but not much thought was given to this by those in power,” he said.

He said a direct link was being established between the Ganga and Kashi Vishwanath temple. “The project will become a model for similar projects elsewhere, and will give a new global identity to Kashi,” he added.

Modi said the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) should carry out a case study of Kashi Vishwanath corridor project since its implementation to progress of work and till its completion so that it can be put before the world later.