Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a
tapasvi, saying he followed a far more stringent religious exercise than he needed to for the Ram temple consecration ceremony.
"We heard that the prime minister followed a stringent religious practice before attending the pran pratishtha on Monday.
He followed a far more stringent exercise than he was asked to. I know him for a long time. He is a tapasvi," Bhagwat said.
Both him and Modi are contemporaries and go back many decades.
They are incidentally of the same age of 73 years.
The prime minister followed an 11-day special religious exercise during which he adhered to a strict regimen, including drinking only coconut water and sleeping on a blanket over the floor.
He also visited a number of temples across several states with links to Lord Ram.
In his brief address, Bhagwat asked, "Modi is doing tap (stringent religious practice) alone but what we will all do", describing the consecration ceremony as a golden day and urging people to do their duties now. -- PTI