PM Modi holds roadshow in Coimbatore to pay tribute to 1998 blast victims

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday.

Coimbatore:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow here on Monday, with BJP workers chanting “Modi, Modi” and paying tribute to the 58 people killed in the 1998 serial bomb blasts. portrait with flowers.

The roadshow is being held amid tight police security, days after the Madras High Court issued a green flag for the event, directing the police to allow it to be held subject to reasonable conditions. Police initially refused permission, citing the “publicly sensitive” nature of the area and the ongoing public examinations at the school.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his roadshow in an open car decorated with flowers, people gathered on both sides of the road showered him with flower petals and chanted slogans in his honor. Some people danced enthusiastically and waved to him as traditional music played to welcome him.

This is the first time that the Bharatiya Janata Party has held such a large-scale roadshow in Tamil Nadu, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic.

“Meendum Modi, Vendum Modi” (Modi again, we want Modi) was one of the slogans raised by supporters of the BJP. Many people lined up on the road holding lotus flowers to welcome Prime Minister Modi and raising slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.

Prime Minister Modi, dressed in a spotless white kaftan and a colorful Bharatiya Janata Party shawl, often raised his hands to wave to those who caught a glimpse of him from the building’s vantage point.

The journey from Saibaba Colony to RS Puram in central Coimbatore is about 2.5 kilometers. Prime Minister Modi’s vehicle moved slowly and people followed him on the service lane.

At the end of the roadshow, Prime Minister Modi paid tribute to the portraits of those who lost their lives in the bomb blast that rocked the textile city in 1998, just a few minutes after iconic Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani addressed a poll meeting on February 14 Talk for hours. Year. 58 people died and more than 100 were injured. The portraits were placed in a small, makeshift memorial square.

Flags of the Bharatiya Janata Party fluttered against a backdrop of colorful lights and streamers as the Prime Minister waved to saffron party workers who had been waiting for more than an hour to see him. The performances of ethnic dances and traditional music made the cadres sing and dance, full of energy.

This is the first time Prime Minister Modi has held a roadshow here, and it is also Prime Minister Modi’s first political participation after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls.

Bharatiya Janata Party Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, Union Minister of State L Murugan, Coimbatore MLA and BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanessi Srinivasan were the three leaders who accompanied the Prime Minister in the vehicle .

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)