Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an incarnation of Lord Shiva, saying only a great person like him could have tackled coronavirus in a populous country like India.
The minister who had given the statement on the occasion of Shivratri while attending a religious function at a temple, said he made no mistake and justified the remarks on Friday.
Meanwhile, Congress took a swipe at the minister for the statement with its Shimla (Rural) MLA Vikramaditya Singh saying Bhardwaj might have said it to flatter the PM and secure the CM’s post for himself.
Justifying his statement, the Himachal minister on Friday said Modi successfully tackled coronavirus in India, a country populated by 137 crore people.
Only a great man (mahapurush) and an incarnation (avtar) can do this, he said. I made no mistake while stating that he is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, he reiterated.
Stressing that PM Modi had spent two days in a Kedarnath cave after voting in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the 69-year-old minister had said Thursday, He has blessings of Lord Shiva. He has taken birth as an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
The entire world is looking at him like a world leader, he had said, adding that India has manufactured two vaccinations with the highest number of people being vaccinated in the country.
Terming Bhardwaj’s statement as unfortunate, former chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s son and Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh said the minister might have given the statement to flatter the PM and get the state chief minister’s post.
Mentioning recent developments in Uttarakhand where the BJP changed its chief minister, the Congress leader said several Himachal ministers have started dreaming of becoming the CM of the state thinking that Jai Ram Thakur may also resign from his post.