PM Modi To Speak At Kashi Telugu Sangamam On April 29 In Varanasi

The religious festival is being held in Varanasi after the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam and is being seen as part of BJP's efforts to deepen its roots in southern states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the Kashi Telugu Sangamam event, which will be held in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, on April 29, PTI reported.

The event will be held at a time when Telugu-speaking pilgrims are arriving in Varanasi in large numbers during the ongoing 12-day long Ganga Pushkaralu, a religious congregation that is held every 12 years. Ganga Pushkaralu started on April 22 and will end on May 3.

Ganga Pushkaralu, in which pilgrims worship their ancestors and river Ganga, is the second such event being held in Varanasi after the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam. The exercise is also being seen as part of Modi's efforts to deepen the ruling BJP's roots in southern states.

The Sri Kashi Telugu Samithi, an organisation of ashrams and dharmshalas related to Telugus, is organising the ‘sangamam’, the organisation’s president and BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao said. He is the coordinator of the programme.

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The one-day programme, to be held at Mansarovar ghat of the Ganga river, will highlight the ancient civilisational ties between the holy city and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -- two states inhabited by Telugu-speaking people. Various cultural and religious events will also be held.

“During the Ganga Pushkar Alu, lakhs of people are arriving for a holy bath in Ganga and to participate in different rituals. This is a very holy period. The prime minister will be addressing thousands of such pilgrims,” Rao said, as quoted by PTI.

He further said that PM Modi would highlight the ancient civilisational connection between the two regions. He lauded the prime minister for rejuvenating Varanasi’s religious and cultural heritage.

(With PTI Inputs)