President Droupadi Murmu treks 2km to Puri shrine as common citizen, wins hearts

BHUBANESWAR: Breaking protocol, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday got off from her official vehicle and walked at least 2 km in Puri to reach the Jagannath Temple like a common devotee, catching her security team by surprise and endearing herself to the public. Murmu, who is from Odisha, is visiting the state for the first time since becoming the President in July.
Accompanied by daughter Itishree and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Murmu waved to the crowd as she walked the distance to the 12th century shrine, chanting 'Jai Jagannath' on the way. She shook hands with schoolchildren gathered there to catch a glimpse of the president and seemed pleased to be able to pay obeisance to Lord Jagannath as a common devotee and not as one who holds the country's highest post.
"As per protocol, she was supposed to step out of her vehicle right in front of the temple. But she took us by surprise and asked us to stop the convoy at Balagandi Chowk. Before we could react, she stepped out of the car, folded her hands in the direction of the temple and started walking," said a senior IPS officer.
After reaching the temple, she bowed at the entrance and later knelt before the sibling deities while offering her prayers from inside the sanctum sanctorum.
Feel fortunate to have Lord's darshan: Murmu
Murmu, the first tribal president, wrote in a register book maintained by servitor Raj Ratan Mohapatra. "I feel fortunate to have darshan of the deities. I feel a rare bliss for having prayed to Lord Jagannath, who is the presiding deity of all Odias. Mahaprabhu is the daru devta (wooden deities) of tribals and the god of the entire world. I pray before him for the well-being of the entire human kind. Let our country reach the peak of prosperity and development by the grace of Lord Jagannath," she wrote in Odia.
Earlier, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb welcomed the president upon her arrival to the temple. Later, accompanied by the Puri king and others, President Murmu took the temple's Mahaprasad.