Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laying the foundation stone for Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s Kalki Dham Temple’s in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh today, said there were “many good deeds that many have left for me to achieve”. He was speaking at a gathering of religious leaders and seers at the inaugural ceremony.

Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who was expelled from the Indian National Congress (INC) for six years for making “anti-party” statements, had invited the prime minister to the function. The seer had been at odds with the INC’s trenchant criticism for quite some time, after which he was expelled from the party.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra of Congress MP and dynast Rahul Gandhi, has drawn criticism from Pramod Krishnam, who referred to it as “political tourism.” The INC, according to the Acharya, is “traveling” while other parties are preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

“In view of complaints about indiscipline and repeatedly making statement against the party, Congress president has approved the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee’s proposal to expel Shri Pramod Krishnam for six years with immediate effect,” a statement issued by Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said, explaining the seer’s expulsion.

Before the prime minister’s address though, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to the dais and said, “In the last 10 years, we have seen a new Bharat… The country is moving ahead on the path of development in the new Bharat.”

Following the event to lay the foundation stone, Modi hosted the fourth groundbreaking ceremony for investment proposals received during the UP Global Investors Summit 2023, which took place in February of last year, and unveiled 14,000 projects valued over Rs 10 lakh crore throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Shri Kalki Dham Nirman Trust, headed by Krishnam, is building the Kalki Dham temple.

Prime Minister Modi said, “This event has been possible after 18 years of waiting. I would like to say that there are many good deeds that many have left for me to achieve. With the blessing of all saints and citizens, all of them that have been left will be achieved in the future as well,” he said, crediting his ‘fortune’ to “the devotion of saints and the spirit of the public” in the presence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

“I have had the privilege of laying the foundation stone of the grand Kalki Dham in the presence of Acharyas and Saints. I am confident that Kalki Dham will emerge as another great centre of the Indian faith,” the prime minister said.

Recalling that this day also marked the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Modi said the event had “become more sacred and more inspiring”.

Krishnam said that “thousands of saints have gathered here from every corner of the country to fulfil the dream of ‘Sanatana Dharma’ that was seen 18 years ago”. He had told news agency ANI earlier today that it was “a matter of pride for us that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation of Shri Kalki Dham today”.

What put off Pramod Krishnam

Nominated by the INC, Acharya Pramod Krishnam had run for Lok Sabha in 2019 from Lucknow but was unsuccessful. But he received a whopping 1.8 lakh votes.

Acharya Pramod Krishnam had run unsuccessfully from Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He was previously a member of the Uttar Pradesh advisory council of the INC, which was established to support Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her capacity as the party’s Uttar Pradesh head.

Pramod Krishnam was rumoured to have been upset over the Samajwadi Party’s announcement of candidates for Sambhal and Lucknow, seats he had his eye on at the time. He had also criticised a number of Congress leadership’s choices, such as their decision to skip the 22 January Ram temple consecration event in Ayodhya.

Finally, the acharya’s invitation to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the event that took place today triggered his expulsion.

On Sunday last, 11 February, the seer “thanked the party for relieving” him, adding that he would “stand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi all my life”. “Today at this age, I am taking this resolution that I will stand with Narendra Modi all my life,” he said.