Modi offers boxes of mithai to the lingam at the Kashi Vishwanath temple
May 17, 2014  18:18
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Narendra Modi at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi with Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh. Next stop is the Ganga aarti at the Dashashwamedh ghat. Modi still offering prayers at the temple.

Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt says that on December 20 the Hindi recounts that when Modi visited the famous Kashi-Vishwanath temple, which abuts the Gyanvapi mosque built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, some young Muslim boys waved out and said, 'Modi uncle, salaam!'

It was Friday so they had gathered in the mosque for the Jumma Namaaz. The entrance to the mosque and temple are common. Both structures are divided by the Gyanvapi (well of wisdom).

Like the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir controversy in Ayodhya, the issue of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque is also in dispute and tension has erupted many times between Hindus and Muslims, but the local people's wisdom has finally prevailed over everything else and peace has been maintained in the mosque and temple, so far.

Modi was taken aback by the Muslim lads' greeting. The report claims that he, too, greeted them back saying, 'Waalaikum-as-salaam', meaning 'Peace be with you, too'. Some other reports noted he said, 'Thank you'.

Pic: Modi at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on December 20
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