LJD leader Sharad Yadav takes swipe at PM Modi's Kedarnath temple visit.
Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) leader Sharad Yadav on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting and meditating at Kedarnath temple and allowing media to cover it on a large scale even as the last phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha election was in progress. He asked if the Prime Minister wants to convert the Lok Sabha into a "Kirtan Sabha".
"The Prime Minister of the biggest democracy in the world is sitting inside the cave. What has he achieved by sitting inside the cave? Did any invention take place? Does he want to convert the Lok Sabha into a Kirtan Sabha?" Mr Yadav said.
Prime Minister Modi on Saturday offered prayers at Kedarnath, a day after campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls came to a close. After meditating for over 15-hours inside the holy cave of Kedarnath, he visited Badrinath, another revered temple in the "Char Dham" in Uttarakhand on Sunday.
Several opposition leaders have been targeting PM Modi for his visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath temples stating that his action was a clear violation of the model code of conduct (MCC). They said that it influenced the voters through a public display of his personal religious activities.
Echoing similar sentiments, the LJD leader said, "I do not understand what people get from such caves? Did people bring him to the Centre to perform religious activities? This is all drama to gain publicity for which the Prime Minister has even violated poll conduct."
Mr Yadav, on being asked about his view on the exit polls which are giving a clear majority to BJP-led NDA at the Centre, said, "Exit polls have no value. This is unfortunate that we copy everything from the United States and Europe. Exit poll cannot be held in this country. I personally never believe in the exit polls as they have no accurate figures."
ABP-Nielsen poll projected 267 for the NDA, 127 for the UPA and 148 for "Others". Of the "Others", the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh is getting an estimated 50 seats.
Voting was held on Sunday for 59 Lok Sabha seats -- 13 each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, all four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat of Union Territory Chandigarh.
As per the Election Commission (EC), a voter turnout of 62 per cent was registered till 7 pm in the seventh phase. Counting of votes is scheduled on May 23.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)