PM Modi's statue (right) was covered up (left) after he tweeted a sharp rebuke
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly expressed his displeasure over a temple dedicated to him in his home state of Gujarat, the trust that has funded the project says it has changed its plans.
This morning, the PM tweeted, "Have seen the news about a Temple being built in my name. I was appalled. This is shocking & against India's great traditions."
The PM asked those building the temple to divert the time and resources they have "towards fulfilling our dream of a Clean India."
The temple, located 130 miles from Ahmedabad, was meant to be formally opened to the public on Monday. An idol of the PM that cost two lakhs to build has been installed already. After Mr Modi's firm rebuke, his statue has been covered up with cloth. It will be replaced with that of "Bharat Mata (Mother India)".
The land for the temple had been granted for a temple for Bharat Mata five years ago till a group of 300 ardent admirers of the PM decided to make it a place to worship Mr Modi. They say they will now scratch that plan.
Constructing the project took a year and seven lakhs.
"He is like a God for us and we have been worshipping him for a decade. We want a temple for him in all villages in Gujarat," said Ramesh Undhad yesterday. Mr Undhad, a former local councillor, headed the project.
Before he swept the national elections in May and moved to Delhi as Prime Minister, PM Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 13 years.