BHUBANESWAR/PURI: Union  Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday offered prayers at Puri Jagannath temple and Lingaraj temple in the State Capital. Shah, on a two-day visit to Odisha, stayed overnight in the pilgrim town of Puri and offered prayers at Lord Jagannath temple on Saturday morning. Upon their arrival at the temple main gate at about 8 am, Shah and other senior BJP leaders were received by the Chief Administrator Dr Krishan Kumar, Collector Balwant Singh and Superintendent of Police Umashankar Dash.

Accompanied by family priest RN Gochhikar, Shah went to the main temple and offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. He also offered prayers to Devi Mahalaxmi and Debi Bimala in their separate temples located in the complex. He also paid respect to the pandits of Mukti Mandap who showered blessings on him. Before leaving, he signed the visitors book maintained by his family priest. Shah had stayed in a beach-side star hotel.

Eight platoons police were deployed for his security. After his return from Puri, he visited Lingaraj temple, one of the oldest shrines of the city on amidst tight security. Shah reached the 11th-century shrine at about 11 am and spent over 15 minutes on the temple premises and offered a special puja. “The Union Home Minister first offered prayers to Lord Ganesh and then performed puja at the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva by offering water, milk and bael leaves.

He later offered prayers to Goddess Parvati,” said Badu Nijog secretary Kamalakanta Badu. During the Home Minister’s visit, he was shown the register in which he had signed in 2015 and 2017 during his visits to the temple. He again signed in the register before leaving the temple, Badu added. The Home Minister was accompanied by Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi, MPs Basanta Kumar Panda and Aparajita Sarangi, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, national spokesperson Sambit Patra and State unit president Sameer Mohanty.