Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today visited the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and offered prayers at the Shri Jagannath Temple.
On a two-day visit to Odisha, he visited the 12th-century shrine amidst tight security and sought blessings from the trinity, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. Accompanied by Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pratap Sarangi and Prahlad Singh Patel and BJP’s national vice president Baijayant Panda, the Home Minister reached the temple in the morning. BJP’s Odisha in-charge Arun Singh, national spokesperson Sambit Patra and party’s state unit president Samir Mohanty were also present.
Shah was welcomed near the lion’s gate of the shrine by Puri District Collector Balwant Singh, officials of the temple administration and local leaders. Besides offering prayer inside the main shrine, Amit Shah also went around the premises and visited the temples of Devi Vimla and Mahalaxmi.
Later, he left for Bhubaneswar for a visit to Lingaraj temple of Lord Shiva.
On Friday, Shah chaired a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in Bhubaneswar which was attended by Chief Ministers of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. After the meet, he addressed a rally on CAA, organised by the BJP, at Janata Maidan in the state capital.