Kannur, July 13, 2013: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary and the former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah offered prayers at the Rajarajeswara Temple at Taliparamba here on Friday morning.

Mr. Shah, a close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, reached the temple by road from Mangalore at 8 a.m. He was reportedly accompanied by two associates and a local astrologer from Payyannur.

Visit confidential

Mr. Shah’s visit to the temple was kept confidential and even the local leaders of the BJP were not aware of it. Temple priests and the authorities reportedly received the former Minister at the Shiva temple.

Mr. Shah, who is an accused in the Soharabuddin case and is currently on bail, had a few days ago visited Ayodhya and offered prayers at the makeshift temple at the disputed site there. He had declared at Ayodhya that a grand temple would be built there.

The Rajarajeswara Temple at Taliparamba is a Siva temple. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and the former Karnataka Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa were the dignitaries who had offered prayers at the temple in the past. The latter had offered an elephant to the temple a few years ago.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 13, 2013.